Ascending Leaders

Surprised by Community

2011-09-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

During our July summer vacation, after my wife, daughter and I drove over 1,200 miles to visitmy parents, they told us a wonderful story ofhospitality and community.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, they were taking a few daysaway and staying together at what people in Michigan call a“cottage.” People in Texas would call ita “vacation home.” A small town nearbywas advertising a community-wide pig roast on the 4^th. My parents thought it would be fun to attend.So they did, knowing no one there.

After they got their food and looked for a seat, they saw atable with some open seating. They sat down to eat and noticed a young 20-somethingcouple sitting nearby. Judging by their dress, my parents could see they were OldOrder Amish. They, too, seemed to know no one. After a bit, my parents struck up a conversation with them and learnedthat the couple lived a couple hundred miles away. How, my parents wondered,does an Old Order Amish couple who use only horse and buggy for transportationget to a pig roast a three-hour drive from home?

The young couple explained that they had never had avacation since they were married, not even a honeymoon. So this was their firstvacation ever. With their three children staying with their parents, they paida driver to drive them to this area for their “vacation.” After three days, thedriver would pick them up and return them home.

The conversation flowed easily, with my parents asking somenot-too- intrusive questions about their way of life. My parents, strangers themselves, werepracticing hospitality in a strange place, reaching out to another pair ofstrangers. Returning the hospitality, the Amish couple then invited my parents totheir home for an Amish meal.

On the agreed-upon date, my parents made three-hour trip tothe home of their newly-found acquaintances. They shared a wonderful mealtogether, while my parents continued to learn more about the Amish lifestyle—completewith a buggy ride. What my parents experienced on these occasions, in additionto delicious meals, was community. These Christians of very different flavors,both strangers in a strange place, reached out to each other and made room intheir lives for each other. They each blessed each other and were blessed inthe process. That is the kind of community we envision in our recent book Community; Making Room for Relationship.Practicing hospitality is just one of the habits that Jesus practiced duringhis time on earth – and one that he desires us to continue developing andpracticing until he returns.

What kind of busyness do you have?

2011-09-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

At one ofour recent “Leading People fromBusy to Engaged” workshops one pastor interjected with the question: “Are youtoo busy?” I believe I responded something like: “I am often on the extendedside of busy, and lately I have been a little too busy.”

Nowthat I’ve had more time to think about that exchange, I would suggest that theright question is: “Are you too busy for spiritual growth and passionateservice?” To that I can answer, “rarely.”

My passionis growing people of Christ-like character. I want to spread characterdevelopment across the breadth of the church. More often than I would like, I’mso engrossed in the details involved in tending to this toddling nonprofit that I lose sight of the visionthat drives my passion and I find myself drained, physically and emotionally. Yet, my busyness is still about moving forward that for which God has me on this earth.

On mostdays I am still journaling, practicing a private lectio divina and examen ofconsciousness. Those disciplines have become the bedrock of my spiritualpractices. Yet, here too I could thrive and do much better. I have had the samespiritual director for over 15 years. She has been getting quite old. I amsaddened and embarrassed to say that it has been a long time since I have metwith her. Recently I attempted to make an appointment only to find that she hadfallen ill and died suddenly a year ago. I will never forget her reminder to “find God in all things.” I am still making time for spiritual growth, not too busy for that--though I would like to reinvest effort into it.

Are you toobusy? Remember, the question is not simply are you busy or not? The realquestion ist whether busyness is distracting you from your spiritual growth andpassionate service. In the current culture, busyness is inevitable.. Butbusyness with a purpose is enriching and fulfilling. One person said it well intheir evaluation of a “Leading People from Busy to Engaged” workshop. The rightkind of busyness is about “transforming ordinary busyness to kingdom busyness.”

The experience I had a key role in creating, Charting Your Course often helps peoplebe busy about the best things for them. It moves them away from ordinarybusyness, toward kingdom busyness.

Clothes that last 40 years!

2011-09-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Yet the LORD says, “During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness,

your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet."

Deuteronomy 29:5

Last month, I attended a niece’s wedding with our 28-year-old son. Sitting with one foot across his knee as we waited to be ushered out of the ceremony, he pointed out that he had just recently bought a new pair of black dress shoes—replacing the ones we’d bought him for his 8th grade graduation eleven years ago! Not only that, he says he is still wearing the same black trousers that he wore for that occasion. I can hardly believe it!

“Seriously,” I asked, “your shoe size hasn’t changed since 8th grade?

“No,” he laughed.

And while his waist is still as slight as a barely teenager, I can’t believe he hasn’t added at least an inch or two to his height in the last decade. He insists it’s true.

I’m more surprised that those shoes still fit him than that they lasted as long as they did, after all, he probably only wore them once a week, max, for most of those years. Honestly, all I remember him wearing to church during his high school years was a favorite pair of soccer shoes. He is a cabinet maker/furniture craftsman, so dress shoes are not his everyday footwear. Still—eleven years!

“They just sort of fell apart one day,” he explained. “I was walking and felt something squishy. The soles were completely disintegrating.”

I’m delighted with him and for him that those shoes lasted so long. He and his wife are just getting started in life. Avoiding or delaying unnecessary expenses is a big part of their life. They are happy to make do with what they have. I’m thrilled those shoes made do as long as they did.

I think about God’s reminder to the Israelites—in forty years of wondering in the wilderness, neither their clothes nor sandals wore out. Not for lack of wear or tear. Surely, 40 years of desert wandering would take its toll on footwear. But, God didn’t allow it – and in his mercy and faithfulness brought them through the wilderness intact – shoes and all.

Sometimes I speak pretty glibly of God’s faithfulness. His mercies are new every morning—and I tend to take them for granted. I expect to greet the new day with a modicum of health, food in the pantry and a plan for the day. It’s good to be reminded that God is interested – and does something—about even the seemingly most insignificant details of our life—like making shoes last.

By Judy Hagey, Director of Writing Projects with Ascending Leaders and freelance writer and editor

A tale of two companies

2011-08-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

Thelast week of July was a super week with Ascending Leaders, the organization Ifounded and lead. It included:

A successful “Leading People from Busyness to Engagement” workshop in Des Moines--our first ever.
The public premiere of Ascending Leaders’ DVD story for 2011 in the same town that Sarah Palin premiered her movie—Pella, Iowa.
An Ascending Leaders staff retreat in Pella.
An Ascending Leaders board planning and meeting in Pella.
A visit with men who are using our Charting Your Course and other AL materials at Cross Church Pinnacle Hills.

Duringthis super week, our locations also had us interacting with a number ofemployees of two very successful international companies. The founders of eachof these companies were strong Christians who began with something very smalland grew it to be an international corporation. Both of these men passed ontheir companies to the next generation of leadership and passed away in recentyears.

Theemployees of one of the companies told me that it is not the same company theystarted working at. At one time, the company strongly valued the employees andthe community of its home office, but today many employees are feeling used by thecompany for the sake of profit.

Themood at the other company is drastically different. Employees welcomed us warmly as wetoured part of its manufacturing facility. I was told that this generation ofleadership built on the leadership of the first generation to shape the cultureof the company to care even more for its people. They talk about a 4Pperspective of Principles, People, Product and Profit. Principles are criticalto guide this company without its’ success relying on the personality of one ora few individuals. People are important, as is product and profit so that thiscompany will have years of viability for everyone it blesses—customers,dealers, employees and its community. In the downturn which this company experiencedin the 90s they learned how to become even more efficient in their work and toproduce better products with fewer employees—they call it lean manufacturing.They showed us their next generation of engine that is so good ecologicallythat the air it puts out is cleaner than it is when it enters. They also showed us a machine small enough tobe pulled behind a pickup truck on a single axle trailer—a machine that buildsblocks the size of concrete blocks. This machine can build the blocks on theconstruction site, so that blocks do not have to be shipped to theconstruction—thus decreasing costs. The machine also uses extremely durableparts so that it will not break down easily. They are excited to develop thisfor building earthquake and hurricane-wind resistant homes in developingcountries.

Theculture of this second company is the kind of culture I hope God grows throughus with Ascending Leaders:

a culture that cares for the value and growth of people in our audience, as well as in our organization.
a culture that efficiently produces high quality product that blesses people.
a culture with a financial plan that allows us to be sustainable for years to come, to bless people for generations.

Thatis the kind of Christian non-profit I can take delight and pride inleading. I thank God for the inspirationfrom this international corporation. May Ascending Leaders keep growing intothat kind of organization!

Your foot will not slip

2011-06-30T19:20:00.001-07:00

I attended a memorial service last Saturday for the mother of a friend and Ascending Leaders staff person.

In the service, the pastor preached from Psalm 121, a Psalm that I have often read to people who are feeling anxious and have read to myself when I am feeling anxious.
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Verses 1 and 2 express a strong confidence on the part of the speaker. Some say that the speaker is saying that he looks up to the mountains and there in the mountains lies Jerusalem (you always travel up to Jerusalem) where God’s temple resided. Others say these verses are a contrast. In the mountains were the “high places” of the pagan gods. It is as if the author is saying that others may look to their gods in their “high places” for help, but he looks to the one who is maker of heaven and earth. Either way these two verses express a strong confidence in God’s provision of aid.

Notice in verse 3, the pronouns shift from first person (I) to third person (you). Someone is speaking to someone else. It could be that the author is there talking to other people declaring to them, like he declared in verse 1 and 2.

This pastor gave it another twist. Could it be that when it feels as if his foot is going to slip the author’s confidence in God wavers a bit? Could it be that verses 3 and following are the community of faith reassuring the author that God really will take care of him.

I know that I can go from a strong sense of confidence in God to a strong sense of vulnerability to danger and rejection in a matter of seconds. When you feel the earth is going to give away under your feet, do not fear the community of faith says to you, because God will not let your feet slip. When you feel as if you are left alone in danger while God is snoring in the front of the boat, don’t fret for He does not sleep. When the pressure gets so overwhelming that if feels as if you are getting a bad sunburn, God will be your sunscreen.

May those in the body of Christ reassure each other at those moments of doubt.

Too busy for spiritual growth or service

2011-05-31T20:04:00.000-07:00

If you are a pastor or adult ministries staff, you are responsible for your church members’ spiritual growth or at least to some options before them to encourage their spiritual development. But spiritual growth takes time. If your church is like most every other, it’s full of busy, overcommitted people who have little, if any, time to invest in spiritual growth. So, how do you help busy people grow to be robust Christ-followers? How do you ignite their passion for growing more deeply in love with God? Good questions! This e-book was written to answer those very questions.

We realize that you may have heard some of these solutions before. But, knowing something and actually practicing it is not the same thing. Our aim is to position them anew and offer practical solutions you can use. We are also providing a webinar where we will discuss these further, and a half day seminar in which participants will actually experience some of the solutions we offer.

Anyone who is old enough to remember the 70s and 80s, undoubtedly remembers these common phrases and a line from a popular TV commercial lauding the new woman who can thrive doing it all:
»» Multitasking
»» Quality Time vs. Quantity Time
»» I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never-never-never-never let you forget you’re a man,
cause I’m a woman …
These are all about packing more and more into one’s life in order to be a success. Conferences and self-help books taught people how to cram more into their day.

The result was hurried and haggard people
»» with never ending to-do lists,
»» trying to perform at work and at home and, occasionally, dutifully at church,
»» staying busy, but bored,
»» putting off their own spiritual health until later.

As technology improves and expands, the pace of life continues to quicken. As if the 70s, 80s and 90swere not bad enough, now we can add overnight express shipping, handheld devices, texting and more to come. We are moving beyond the U.S. postal service, the land phone line, the VCR and the fax machine to even faster flow of information. But, the speed that it takes to stay competitive, to keep one’s job and stay on top of things, can have a huge detrimental effect as it crowds out spiritual health.

Church staff who are responsible for adult spiritual health and growth are stymied by this problem—how to engage busy people in activities and experiences that will facilitate their spiritual growth. “I don’t have time” is a familiar refrain. As a result, it’s hard to get people to show up. If they do show up, their participation may be irregular, making it difficult to build momentum. In addition, they may be too fatigued to focus on anything of much substance. Few can be expected to successfully complete small–group homework during the week, or even be willing to try. Meanwhile, a good number are vegging at home in front of the television 10, 20, 30 hours a week. Church staff, on more cynical days, may be of the opinion that church members want to be wowed and spoon-fed one hour a week and nothing more.

That is the problem, but what does one do about it?

That is the introduction to a 17 page e-book I have written on the subject of people being too busy for spiritual growth. Get the whole e-book free on our website beginning Thursday June 2.

The gardening work of One

2011-04-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

The weather in the part of Texas where we live has been very dry, windy and lower humidity and temps than we are used to in the spring. One result has been forest fires. Another has been weekend after weekend that is perfect for working in the yard. No rainy days as an excuse to spend a Saturday lazying around inside.

Both my next door neighbor and I used the opportunity to bring major improvements to our landscaping, though we went about it very differently.

Not to nock my neighbor—his method was low energy output on his part and hi cash output. In just one day, a landscaping crew of 8 guys pulled out all his front bushes and flowers, brought in fresh dirt to build up his beds and installed a beautiful array of plants. The next Saturday they came back digging up grass and putting in underground sprinkling. The next Saturday they replaced the old landscape lights with lights to bring dramatic lighting to the trees and front of his house. The next weekend they built new flower beds in his back yard and installed lighting. The next weekend they replaced all his fence pickets. And the next weekend three guys used a lever to lift his three big landscaping rocks up and put support under them so they stood higher and could be seen better from the street.

Over those same 5 Saturdays and more I worked in our yard. Ever since we moved into this house 18 months ago I had wanted to do something about the brick structures in the front beds that were falling apart. When I pulled them out, I found that no base had been put in under them, which made them lean and topple as the earth moved. I put in base and sand and rebuilt the brick structures. I gave fertilizer to the plants, thinned out plants, pulled out some plants that had been placed in bad spots and moved them to other spots. I trashed some plants that were just too thick. Earlier my son had installed a light to give dramatic lighting—to our address so in case of an emergency it will be able to be seen easily at night. My way of improving the hard was high labor, many hours for one person with some help from my wife periodically and much lower cost than my neighbors. I spent a few hundred dollars, whereas he probably spent many thousands. I also had this opportunity to enjoy getting my hands dirty—I find it to be a wonderful sabbatical from the work I normally do during the week. I complain, but it is a good feeling to have my muscles ache.

This reminds me of the spiritual life and growth. It is possible to go for quick growth that may look good on the outside but takes little effort on one’s part and does not go deep, possibly even meaning pulling some good plants out with the weeds. Then there is the slower work of the Holy Spirit. He does not waste a hurt. He fertilizes, moves around, gets to the foundation of the issue and puts in better base. This is the kind of improvement that is substantive and long lasting providing a certain robustness to one’s spiritual life. When I get inpatient with the slowness of my own growth, remembering the difference in how our two yards were improved is a good image for being patient with the work of the divine gardener.

What I like about "millennials."

2011-03-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

Last night I was with another twenty something couple. He was recommended to me for an opening it looks like Ascending Leaders will have this year. He and I met once before informally, thus was our first official interview.

Some things that impress me about the “millennials” I have interacted with more so over the last year:

1.The passion to grow. When I asked this individual what he was looking for in a position, the first thing he said was, “Someone who will mentor me in life, as a husband, father in the future and follower of Jesus.” That is a key desire of my young seminary friend as well.

2.Spiritual growth through service. My interviewee shared with me that the activity that he feels he gets the most from is serving. I was told by others that recently he took a couple men in their 40s and 50s to those living under the freeway to provide a variety of life essentials.

3.Many are finding themselves working in jobs they did not train for and are not fulfilling to them. Jobs that, beyond providing an income, feel pointless.

4.The desire to make a difference in people’s lives. Our interviewee seems to have a strong pull to our job because he can see that Ascending Leaders is making a difference in people’s lives for spiritual growth.

5.Some who are so excited and passionate that they overfill their calendar, though which generation did not do that when in their twenties?

6.I love them. I love hanging out with them. I am very much looking forward to the masters level class I will be teaching beginning next week “Leadership and Character Development.” Not all, but some of my students will be twenty-year-olds. There are two I especially love cause they are my wife and my biological children—ages 22 and 21. One of them is bringing into our family a daughter-in-law on June 18—we are excited!

This young boomer thanks God for the millennials He has brought into my life.

Santification and Spiritual Formation: What is the difference?

2011-02-27T16:51:00.000-08:00

Here is another question from a young seminarian, whose questions I am answering on this blog.

YS: How do you differentiate between Spiritual Formation and Sanctification?

Mike: Sanctification is the process whereby we grow more Christ-like in our attitudes and actions. It is the process of becoming spiritually more mature. It is a work of the Holy Spirit that begins at conversion and continues on until the day when we get to go home where there is no pain or suffering or tears. “Become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:16

A couple studies in the last decade (Michael Zigarelli’s study in 2000 and the Reveal study in 2007) have shown that the spiritual disciplines are a key instigator of sanctification in people’s lives. Already in the 80’s authors like Dallas Willard in his book The Spirit of the Disciplines were claiming that the spiritual disciplines is what helped people to become the kind of Christians we wanted to be and needed. The spiritual disciplines help shape and form people. They contribute to spiritual formation.

Possibly we could say that spiritual formation is the act of becoming sanctified (set apart, like Jesus).

Another side of spiritual formation is that it is the process of growing more in love with God. It builds intimacy with Him. It encourages the remaining in Jesus.

There is a distinction there that people often miss.

Does one involve themselves in the practices of spiritual formation first of all for union with Christ or for change of behavior. Really the two are tightly woven together, but if we are not careful we can think of spiritual formation as only the growth of character which means relating to others differently.

I began digging deeper into spiritual formation at a time in my life when so much seemed to be not working. I was frustrated and bewildered. I listened to people like Dallas Willard and turned toward solitary retreats and spiritual direction to address these issues. In the midst of trying to find a solution I did grow more tightly connected to Christ and slowly the attitude and behavioral changes came as a result.

Today I often have to check myself. Am I doing spiritual formation activities in order first of all to grow closer to God or is it merely a tool I am trying to use to get a job done—to build my life more like Christ’s (sanctify it) and get it working better? I too easily slip by the former and fall into the latter. When I do, I am in trouble, because spiritual formation is not simply a gimmick.

Spiritual formation needs to be at its heart about the formation of one’s life with God. Sanctification comes as a bi-product of ongoing spiritual formation, but is not the core purpose of spiritual formation. Stronger union with Christ is what spiritual formation at its core is about.

In memory and honor of Ken Holtvluwer d. Dec. 24, 2010

2010-12-30T09:55:00.000-08:00

Back 18 or 19 years ago when I was a church planter I began receiving periodically small handwritten, photocopied notes from Ken and June Holtvluwer. It became clear that they obtained from the Christian Reformed Church the names and addresses of all world and home missionaries and sent this photocopied notes to us all. Ken and June are truly very special people. I, like other church planters, reached out to many people to pray for us in that ministry. They are the only ones who did not know me personally and reached out to me, as they did many others. AL board member Tom Bratt still remembers a Christmas card he received when he first came on staff with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee from these people whom he had never met. What a delight to get their notes!

About that time the church I planted received a donated building, purchased land, moved it and needed to refurbish it to become our worship and ministry center. A tip came to me that Ken provided through a third party. The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee had retires called Disaster Response Volunteers who would travel for weeks and months to areas of the U.S. hit by natural disaster. We had gone for a year without any significant natural disaster and the agency was looking for ways to give these people opportunities to serve in the meantime. The tip from Ken was to contact them about the possibility of these Disaster Response volunteers refurbishing our building. I made that contact and those volunteers did refurbish that building over a period of roughly nine months.

On their notes, Ken and June put out a general offer to take any missionary out for breakfast when they were in the Grand Rapids area. I took them up on the offer to meet them and thank them for that tip. I do not know how many others took them up on their offer, but those who did not missed out on something very special. What wonderful times were all those breakfasts first near their business and then later near their retirement home.

I was always tickled to see Ken and June’s joviality. I loved the ways he teased the waitresses and they both got a laugh out of it. I can imagine Ken now having immensely jovial times in unhindered communion with Christ. I hope that as I age my joviality can come close to Ken and June’s.

Ken and June built a thriving lumber and home-décor family business over the years, in spite of a number of setbacks. To see their ability to laugh even during the last 6 years which have been extremely difficult for construction related businesses in Michigan, gives me the courage to persevere even through tough days.

We had some things in common, including a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ and having moved buildings in our lives. Ken and June had moved two buildings in their history.

I admired June and Ken’s faithfulness in prayer. And then to learn that they had shown as much and more love than they showed to little-ole-me to tremendous organizations and institutions like Kuyper College and Mission India. And then that Ken and June would believe so much in what I was and am doing that they gave financial gifts at key times. They both always remembered my wife’s and kids' names. After years of trying, they got the founder of Mission India to have breakfast with us to discuss the possibility of Mission India to use AL, something they greatly wanted to see (this did not come to pass since AL materials are written to a much higher conceptual level than Mission India's "customers" can handle). The fact that June took the time on Ken’s last day on this earth to send Ascending Leaders and me an encouraging note about Ken’s impending passing, overwhelmed me. To be in their circle of influence has been an honor and blessing.

Ken’s was a life exceptionally well lived. He finished very well. I thank God for privileging me to be able to share a very small part of it with Ken and June.We can thank God as well that Ken and June have believed in the mission of Ascending Leaders.

You can read more about Ken’s life at: http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2010/12/post_56.html

Group Hug

2010-12-10T07:22:00.000-08:00

This blog entry is from AL team member Don Watt. Among a variety of roles Don has blessed the team with, he is the core author of "Dream Teams: People" and is the provider of all the discussion questions for each session in the books. Don also is our team member who took the content from our popular "Charting Your Course" seminars, did further research and put it all into excellent book form. We are all excited that the new "Charting Your Course" book written to be experienced in groups of three is now taking pre-orders and will soon be shipped.

From Don:

We had just finished saying good-bye to our son’s family when one of our granddaughters ran back in, threw her arms around us and shouted, “group hug.” For the next few minutes she and her sister pretended to leave and then rushed back in for another hug. Eventually their parents had to put an end to the “group hug” epidemic. Ann and I savored the warmth of their silly spontaneity for a long while after they left.

Notice the opening verses of 1 John:

From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us. – 1 John 1:1-2 The Message

John saw firsthand the God of the universe (Jesus) laugh at lunch, cry over hurts, clean fish, touch the untouchable (lepers) and hug children. Although in John’s day, many hoped for the Messiah, probably no one ever expected that God Himself would show up. And certainly none expected to have Him over for dinner.

Christianity is “relationship rich.” I have been reading a book titled "Kingdom Living." It was written by a committee of “experts/practitioners” in the field of discipleship. They wrestled with understanding the core essentials for spiritual growth. Eventually they came up with seven process and three theological essentials.

Interestingly, the second essential they present is the need for “communities of grace.” Most of us know that spiritual growth is a product of God’s work in us. We relate to the “me and God” language of Psalm 23. But in reality, spiritual growth happens in a “me, others and God community.” The Ascending Leaders learning process of individual study, small-group reflection and especially triad application is designed to encourage the community needed for spiritual growth.

This Christmas as you experience the wonderful tradition of giving and receiving gifts, you might be thankful for the gift of grace in your small group or triad. Think about this: the others in your triad are gifts from God to you and you are God’s gift to them. The wonderful acceptance, love, encouragement and sharing of others doing life with you is essential to your and their growth. You have our permission for a triad “group hug.”

Have a wonderful Christmas.

Ambition: for or against?

2010-11-11T14:38:00.001-08:00

Here is another question from a young seminarian, whose questions I am answering on this blog.

YS: What place does ambition have in the redemptive life?

Mike: You don’t ask the easy ones do you ;-). This is one of those that can be so tricky. Certainly there is a place for ambition. God gives us passions and visions for a reason. We are to seek first His Kingdom. There is something very ambitious about that.

Yet, ambition can very subtly become about personal desires, disguised by something else. Let me illustrate. It is good to be ambitious for God’s Kingdom. Many people are ambitiously focusing in on certain parts of God’s Kingdom. Often pastors are focused on building a certain church. When I church planted I was ambitious about building that church. Yet, while I truly wanted to build Christ’s church, I know other motives of proving myself and being noticed mixed in to greater or lesser degrees. We need to check ourselves when we say we are ambitious about God’s kingdom and ask ourselves what part of that has slipped over into building our own little kingdom around our circle of influence and clothing it with “God’s Kingdom” language.

God presently has me focused on building a ministry that brings substantive Christ-like change to many people. If I am so busy telling people about that and ambitiously looking for leads and openings, that I do not ask questions about or take time to listen to what others are focused on in the Kingdom I probably have let that ambition go too far. Whenever I feel myself exceedingly zealous about something, I need to ask myself if that strength of ambition is warranted or if it is about something else like my own neurosis.

We do need to be ambitious about a life with God. I want to be ambitious about living closer to God, better mirroring my Lord and Savior. We do need to be ambitious about living like Christ. Yet over-ambition in that regard can lead to legalism. We do need to be ambitious for the presence and expression of grace. Some have been overambitious and in the name of grace become licentious.

Some people become so ambitious and competitive in sports or politics that when the game is done or the political race is done their opponent has become a lifelong enemy. Yet periodically you see a fierce competitor who loses and after losing speaks graciously about the victor, genuinely thanking the victor for a vigorous challenge and wishing the victor well. John McCain’s concession speech to President Obama was an example of this. This is a good way to hold ambition.

Be ambitious but be careful not to hold it too tightly. Hold ambition loosely. After all, we are fallen creatures and what we think God wants us to be ambitious about may have a flaw that we are blind to. The Crusaders are an example of people ambitious for God who, out of a strong grasp of that ambition did things that were not of God, like murdering people because of their skin color and the living location.

Back at it.

2010-11-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe it has been 6 weeks since I last wrote here. My writing tends to be sporadic. I get inspired and am more prolific for a bit and then for a period under the weight of other demands and deadlines I have a hard time getting my head into writing.

Over the last six weeks I spent time both in El Paso, TX and in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In one way, these both were artsy trips. In El Paso, I spent a couple days with friend and fellow board member, Geronimo Garcia at his cool company Geronimo Design Inc. We worked on how to get the word out about Ascending Leaders in 2011. You will begin to see results of our work in a month or two. Our HighPoint this month will be our first release of some of the results of these fun couple days together.

While in West Michigan, I was at a conference in Grand Rapids at the same time that “ArtPrize” was coming to a close. ArtPrize is a rather cool period of several weeks during which artwork of many different types are set up around the urban landscape of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Artist of various ability and experience can enter their art. People can vote on the art they like best. At the end, there are several divisional winners and one winner of the grand prize of $250,000. The winner revealed something about the art taste of west Michigan—a huge mural of a picture from a war gone by. The whole thing was done in pencil.

The conference I was there for was that of Partners Worldwide. They had 400 business people from around the world to talk about issues about how Christian businesspeople could use their acquired knowhow to mentor business men and women in developing countries. Why would Ascending Leaders be represented at a conference like that? Spiritual growth is an important piece of Christian business mentoring, both for the mentors and mentees and that is what we are stellar at.

A friend, Terry Butler, was there showing off something that bridged both the artprize world and the partners worldwide. He was showing off Dynablock—a machine that can fit on a single axle trailer (yes he pulled it from Iowa behind his truck) and can make blocks something like cinder blocks on site. It saves lots of transportation issues and costs of ordering and shipping cinder blocks for construction. I first heard about this machine 4 years ago when I was first introduced to Terry. It is a wonder for construction—especially useful in developing countries. It is a practical work of art itself. Terry is creatively thinking of including a copy of Ascending Leaders Thriving Love with the instruction manual of each machine sold. That will be an interesting mix.

While in Grand Rapids, Michigan I taught a 3 day class on discipleship at Calvin Seminary. It was a great experience for the 11 students and myself. The first morning we began sitting in classic lecture style. By the last day of class students were sitting in pods of triads going deep together. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I quite possibly got more out of it than they did, though several students have communicated how much they got out of the experience.

Coming soon: another question from my young seminarian friend.

Another question from a young seminarian

2010-09-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

Here is another question from a young seminarian, whose questions I am answering in this blog.

YS: I seem to have a couple different possible opportunities and directions for my future. I am eager to pick one and go in that direction, but it is a tough decision. I hate this ambiguity. I just want to move forward. How do I know what to choose?

Mike: Ah yes, opportunity. You have so much possibility ahead of you. And you have so much energy. I can understand an eagerness to get a direction. You are visionary, passionate and motivated--all very good characteristics.

Yet that same vision, passion and motivation can cause you to get into a hurry and miss the turn God has for you. In a rush you may end up like a car that is speeding so fast down the road that it misses the important exit for the true route to its destination and as a result ends up in a very bad place. I have heard: “A student in a hurry, learns slowly.” I have found that when I get in a rush, I miss nuances that are important.

Bobby Clinton claims that in the first half of adult life what is most important is what God is doing in you. He is using that time and circumstances to prepare you for what He will do through you especially in the second half of adulthood. That is a hard concept to accept--that when you are between 20 and 40 anything you are involved in is for the purpose of God developing you, even when you think you are doing some great thing. So go slow enough for God’s signs to catch your eye and for you to make that turn that gives you some big growth. These opportunities are really about your growth any-way.

At one time, I believe I was in my mid 30s I felt like I was waiting. Some opportunities crossed my path. If I did not jump, the window of opportunity would soon close. My spiritual director gave me some advice that was hard to hear, but that I needed to hear. Her advice was to keep saying “no” until you hear a clear “yes” from God. It is hard to wait, but I think that is very good advice.

So live in the gray area and hold both opportunities in your hand as loosely as you can, as long as you can, until you hear a clear “yes” from God for one or the other. If you do not hear a clear “yes” from God for either, then maybe He has a third option and you will need to say “no” to both.

"Questions from a Young Seminarian" #1

2010-09-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

I am answering questions from a young seminarian.

YS: I have such a hard time with daydreaming and my mind not wandering. I have so many ideas and so many questions. I am often present with my wife and infant son and yet not present—my mind is elsewhere. How can one possibly keep their mind in the moment?

Mike: What you are describing is a common malady of people who are visionary and spend major parts of their day considering and synthesizing ideas. I have struggled with this myself. Dinner together is an important value for our family. Often when all four of us are around the table, my wife asks me, “where are you?”

I remember when I was in my late 20s, planting a church and raising toddlers. I can distinctly remember pushing my kids in a swing at a park, while my mind was figuring out what direction to move with a ministry item and even wishing I could be on the phone making that call (that was pre cell-phones ). Pretty sad, isn’t it? Part of it was then I was filled with so much idealism and the world felt like I was flying by—I wanted to make my mark before too much time had gone by. You are not alone.

But that is not something to simply accept. In July I was at a retreat where I read about the discipline of “mindfulness” or “being in the present” and especially while on a long hike on vacation after that, I was again impressed by this. During that 6 hour hike alone, I determined to keep my mind in the moment, on the trees and rocks and flowers along the trail. I failed often and after realizing that I was in my mind fixing some possible fall issue in ministry pulled myself back to the moment.

When I would hike/walk with my wife in my early 20s she impressed upon me how set I was on the destination of the hike, that I failed to appreciate the beauty along the way. I have gotten a little better at appreciating the beauty in the moment while walking or hiking but have a long way to go in staying in the moment.

I expect an issue of spiritual formation for you will be to do something to keep your mind in the present more often. What I have begun doing is at the beginning of each day, turning this matter over to God, admitting that I cannot by will power keep my mind in the moment and asking Him to keep my mind in the present more that day. So far I have a long way to improve. Possibly that practice will work for you, possibly some other action will help you exercise “mindfulness.”

You are twenty years ahead of me in considering this issue. Keep growing in it!

"Questions from a Young Seminarian"

2010-08-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

A number of months ago I was introduced to a twenty-something student at Fuller Texas Seminary. He and I have been together for various reasons three times and have e-mailed some in-between. He is full of questions--especially questions about character and living for Christ in life and in ministry. He is inquisitive--really good at synthesizing ideas. He and his wife are also new parents. He says he is planning on registering for the class that I may be teaching at Fuller Texas next spring called "Leadership and Character."

I was with him this past Wednesday and he was peppering me with some more really good questions. They were the kind of quality questions I wish I had been asking when I was in seminary.

It made me remember what a time of growth and change my 20s were. During that decade I journeyed from being a college student, into marriage, through seminary, into fatherhood twice, into a year of associate pastoring and then three years of church planting before I reached thirty. It was a decade of huge change, huge growth and lots of lessons learned--some by listening and acting on the advice of others and others the hard way.

I enjoyed answering the questions of my young seminarian friend this past week. It got me to thinking that others may gain from his questions and my attempt to answer them. I believe I will periodically include here a question from this young seminarian and my answer. Lets see if it is of assistance to anyone else.

Peace and Hope,

Mike

Mike's Summer Vacation

2010-08-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

In a few weeks students across the country will be writing the traditional, "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" essay. Allow me to share one of my summer vacation experiences with you.

After several weeks of pushing hard to meet deadlines, my family's getaway to western Washington was much anticipated and appreciated. Besides enjoying the beauty of the mountains and ocean, I relish the opportunity to get away for some reflection time and re-connecting with God's creation. A six-hour solitary hike in Mt. Rainier National Park accomplished just that.

This hike took me through various terrains--a rocky glacial riverbed, old tree growth, young trees sprouting from decaying logs, and as I reached the higher elevations, a thinning tree line, and finally meadows rich with wildflowers, and even some small snowfields. The meadow, abundant with vividly-colored wildflowers, pollinated by buzzing bees, was my reward for an exhausting hike. Had I stayed in the lower elevations, I would not have experienced the beauty and satisfaction that awaited me in this mountain meadow.

Spiritual growth usually occurs in the same way. When we look back over a strenuous stretch of our journey, we realize that our faith is stronger now than it was before - that our priorities are, perhaps, a bit more aligned with our heavenly Father's. Were it not for his faithfulness on our 'hike,' we would likely give up in exhaustion and frustration. But God doesn't quit - and that's the kind of faithfulness I want to nurture in my life - a faithfulness that takes us through the arduous, energy-sapping stretches, that threaten our diligence. My slow, tedious hike brought me to the beautiful wildflower meadow. God's faithfulness takes us to a place of greater trust, greater Christlikeness.

To encourage and enable you in your journey, we are offering Fulfilling Faithfulness at a deeply discounted price of $4.95 while supplies last. This is a great way to dip your toes in the ASCENDING LEADERS stream of materials.

My 2000-foot hike took dogged determination for this out-of-shape, middle aged man with Gulf Coast-acclimated lungs. The AL team has been working with the same steady determination in recent months to make a number of improvements in our services. You can see the results at our new and improved website. We're excited about the new look, as well as the new features, including reviews of our materials. If you've used AL materials, we invite you to write a review. If you're considering using our materials, we trust you'll find these reviews helpful.

May you experience God's faithfulness and grow in your own faithfulness!

Mike

Misty Water Colored Memories

2010-07-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

It’s been nearly a month since my husband and I helped his 90-year-old mother clean out her home, another step toward finalizing her move to an independent living facility. Now that we’re past the physical exhaustion and emotion of the week, I think I have a little bit better perspective.

Every transition is bittersweet. While my mother-in-law appears to enjoy the services and community of her new “home,” finalizing the move from the house that has been home for nearly 50 years is difficult. Making good decisions about how to dispose of a lifetime’s worth of goods often brought her to tears and us to exasperation. Having downsized ourselves in recent years, my husband and I were much more inclined to categorize dusty attic treasures as “stuff” to be relegated to the dumpster. For my mother-in-law, however, nearly every item was a memory. For one who could not remember where she placed her keys the night before, I was amazed at her ability to recall the occasion and/or the giver of every knick knack or memento.

A wise friend explained that as we age, the thing we fear most is losing our memory. What helps us remember? A trigger. Something tangible—a vase of dusty plastic flowers, a chipped mug, a hopelessly outdated piece of furniture, a brittle, fading newspaper clipping. Remove the trigger, the elderly person reasons, I just may lose the memory. When that’s gone, can the rest of my mind be far behind?

What is it about our minds that we struggle to forget those things we’d prefer not to remember, like the words I spoke to my mother-in-law in frustration—and to remember those things we don’t want to forget, like all those delightful, innocent comments from our children that we vowed to put in a book some day. I’m reminded that God’s “memory” is perfect. He forgets what we want him to forget – our sins. Not only is he merciful toward our faults and failures (Hebrews 8:12), he removes them as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). They are gone forever – in the cosmic dumpster – never to return. Even better, He never forgets, but always remembers his covenant promises (Psalm 105:8). He remembers that I am His, bought with a price, destined for eternity together. He doesn’t need a cheap memento to trigger the memory.

Judy Hagey
Ascending Leaders team

Eating bread together

2010-07-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the Renovare Covenant Retreat ended in a worship service, including the Sacrament of partaking of the bread and juice. Rev. Chris Webb introduced the Sacrament by talking about food laws.

Every religion other than Christianity has food laws. Judaism does not allow eating of pork and other meats considered unclean. Hinduism is vegetarian. But God lifted any dietary regulations on the Christian community. Diet is not a wall to determine who is in and who is out with Christianity as it is with other religions.

However, various Christians have given the meal of our Lord titles and used that meal as a statement of who is in and who is out. Some of us call it the Lord's Supper, some call it communion, some call it "mass" and some call it the Holy Eucharist.

I remember 20 years ago our first six months in Sugar Land. We had not yet planted Community Life Church and were using the time to visit various churches in the community to gain some understanding of the Christian landscape in our community. One week I made an appointment and met the pastor of a small church plant. A couple weeks later we worshiped them. This church practiced "closed" communion. When it came time for the meal without explanation the elders stepped to row after row of chairs and at each gave the nod for families to go up for the meal. When they came to our row they walked past. My intellectual side knows that makes sense because "closed communion" dictates that I, not a member of their church or another church in their denomination, was not allowed. For my emotional side, it felt like a punch in the gut. I felt ostracized and left out in the cold with my wife and children. I was a fellow Christian. The pastor knew me as an evangelical Christian with a high view of Christ and Scripture, just like their congregation, yet I was out when it came to the meal of the Lord we shared as Savior and Christ.

Does God smile when he sees us make this meal as a statement of division between Christians? Something to think about.

New website

2010-07-13T15:18:00.001-07:00

Our new website is up!! It is so much better than our old website. It has some really great features, a great look and is easy to navigate. We tried to make it as intuitive as possible for searching.

I hope you like it!

And make sure you notice the fall sale of Fulfilling Faithfulness books for $4.95 while supplies last!

Really changing along with you,

Mike