I am good enough, smart enough, and…oh, never mind!

by The RevNo Comments
Do you want to know what I really hate? I really hate coming to the realization that I do not know what to do. I can not stand that feeling of helplessness that comes over me when I am out of my depths.I had that feeling this past weekend. I was driving home from a youth retreat and pulled off the highway to get a tank of gas. After filling the tank the car would not start. I had someone with me and I just wanted to be able to get this guy home. We were stuck. I could not fix it because I know nothing about cars. Then I had to enter into the process of asking people for help. It’s embarrassing because most of the times the issue that is causing my car problems is some “easy” fix. That feeling is horrible.I had a conversation that Sunday with a man I deeply respect named Jim, he was taking...
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Kicking Butt for Jesus or “I Smacked the Other Cheek” or “I am Going to Beat the Hell (literally) Out Of You”

by The RevNo Comments
The New York Times published an article recently about the rise of Mixed Martial Arts being used as an outreach by evangelical churches for men. I know that guys like Mark Driscoll are all over this and that men are drawn to MMA and that God is using it. I am not going to lie to you, I enjoy a little Fight Club and some MMA myself. However, I am concerned by some of the statements that I read in the article. Here a few of them: “Compassion and love — we agree with all that stuff, too,” said Brandon Beals, 37, the lead pastor at Canyon Creek Church outside of Seattle. “But what led me to find Christ was that Jesus was a fighter.” These pastors say the marriage of faith and fighting is intended to promote Christian values, quoting verses like “fight the good fight of faith” from Timothy 6:12. Several put the number of churches taking up mixed martial arts at...
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State of the State

by The RevNo Comments
Over the last two weeks we have witnessed both the federal State of the Union, Michigan’s State of the State, and ESPN’s State of Sports. It has been interesting two weeks. Many conversations about politics and ideas about how to fix the country and the state. What has been most interesting is that people on both sides of the political aisle seem to believe that their position on every issue is what will make the world better. When we consider how to respond to the issues and problems before us we must look at them from a different perspective. We can no longer expect a political party to represent “us”. Political parties simply represent those who pay to get them into office. There is little to no accountability. We must realize that the political corporation is the imperial power that we live in the face of right now. There is one simple concern that career politicians desire: power.Power is something that...
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Leadership 2.0 — I Need an Upgrade!

by The RevNo Comments
Michael Hyatt the CEO of Thomas Nelson recently published a blog on what he calls “Leadership 2.0” and it really fits into some of things that I have been wrestling with in light of my series on Leading With a Limp. Here are his bullet points on Leadership 2.0: Leadership 2.0 embraces change. Like Web 1.0, old-style leadership was fairly static. Leaders resisted change and were more focused on preserving the status quo. However, Leadership 2.0 embraces change. New-style leaders are on the cutting edge of experimentation. If something doesn’t work, they change course quickly. They are more concerned about driving the right outcomes than maintaining business-as-usual. Leadership 2.0 demonstrates transparency. Old-style leaders were opaque. They wouldn’t tell you anything they didn’t have to tell you. They kept themselves shrouded in mystery. (Think of “Oz.”) New-style leaders are open and transparent. They let you see them for who they are — warts and all. They risk self-disclosure, preferring to acknowledge the truth of who...
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Why Lost

by The RevNo Comments
There are few TV shows that capture the imagination. There are many that are entertaining. There are many that make you laugh. Occasionally one might make you think. However, I can’t think of many that actually capture the imagination. ABC’s Lost is just that. It captures your imagination. It’s the uncomfortable balance between what is, what could be, and what needs to be. It has characters that are real and unreal. It asks you to suspend reality and also invites into reality. But what about it catches the imagination? I think you can sum it up in one word: Redemption.There are two articles floating around the internet that catch onto this reality. One was written recently by Jeff Jensen over at EW and the other was from Mikal Gilmore over at Rolling Stone. Both of these articles were sent to me by my friend Kristin. To me the greatest insight into this show comes from Carlton Cuse one of the...
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Busy is the New Lazy!

by The RevNo Comments
What do you think of when you consider laziness? My guess is you almost immediately think about some college kid laying on a couch playing XBox or PS3 and skipping classes. I would tend to agree with you (although when I did this it was a PS, I was not lazy, I was saving my energy!). Dan Allender in Leading With a Limp argues that busy is the new lazy. He says, “Being busy seems to be the polar opposite of laziness, but a busy person is not so much active as lost. (128)” Wow! That is a paradigm shifter.In the Matrix of Brokenness Allender argues that weariness is something that all leaders will face and they will respond with either fatalism or hope. Fatalism usually displays itself in the context busyness. Hope comes when we find disillusionment in these lesser things that keep us busy. As we become disillusioned we turn toward that greater love, the Christ who called...
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The Manipulation Postulate

by The RevNo Comments
Loneliness, according to Dan Allender in Leading With a Limp, is one of the things that any leader will bump into. He can choose one of two responses: hiding or openness. Hiding is the act of manipulation. We feel alone and solitary. As a result we hide. In our hiding we manipulate the world around us to think that all is well. The next thing you know another pastor has flamed out of ministry or has killed himself. Leaders are alone. I have written previously on the “oneness” of ministry.The opposite response is openness or as Allender puts it, “Honest Hunger (120ff).” This honest hunger requires us to open ourselves to people. This openness is an authentic listening to others and the willingness to invite others in.I don’t know if I can explain how hard this is. But maybe using an unrelated illustration will help. I like a good beer. I enjoy evaluating the hoppiness or wheatiness or aroma or...
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CBS to Air Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad

by The RevNo Comments
I really enjoy the Super Bowl. I really enjoy Sports Talk Radio. I really like it when two opposing worldviews collide. However, I do not like it when I turn on Sports Talk Radio and all I hear about is the “culture war”. Over the last few days there has been a tremendous amount of conversation, yelling, and pure craziness regarding Tim Tebow, former Heisman Trophy winner, appearing in a Super Bowl Ad for Focus on the Family. The problem lies in the fact that the commercial is Pro-Life.There have been a large number of Abortion Rights groups speaking out against the commercial and CBS for airing it. What is interesting is that there is no flack coming from these groups regarding the commercials that put women on display as sexual objects. Which of these commercials is most hurtful to women? I would argue that one which objectifies women and uses them for nothing more than their physical attractiveness is...
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Ethan’s Wish…

by The RevNo Comments
At the turn of the New Year we all make resolutions. When Ethan, my eight year old son went to school after the turn of the new year he and his classmates did a project where they made a wish. The teacher got the idea from the Japanese Daruma Doll. Here’s a quick second grade summary of the Daruma Doll: “In Japan, one way to make a New Year’s wish is to buy a daruma doll. This doll has no arms, legs, or eyes. It does have a heavy bottom. If the doll tips over, it rights itself. The doll is a reminder to never give up! When a wish is made, one eye is drawn on the doll. When the wish comes true, the second eye is drawn. The doll is kept until the end of the year.” So each student colored a doll and then responded to three questions: My wish for the year 2010 is… One way I can help make...
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