I think I'm pretty fed up with the trendiness of smartphones nowadays! Here's why: THEY ARE TOOLS, NOT TOYS!!

A smartphone is intended to be the replacement of what my dad use to carry around, the Franklin Planner. A smartphone is smaller, holds more information, and is way easier to carry around. The Blackberry and the Palm Pilot were the answer to this. With the rise of cell phones, people didn't want to carry 2 devices around so Research In Motion (RIM) made the Blackberry and the cellphone into one! Ta-da!

With the birthday of the PDA Cell Phone came a new paradigm on personal organization. But I think that paradigm has shifted into serving that drives me batty!! I love my iPhone and before that I tolerated my Blackberry. I got my Blackberry Pearl 8130 after I joined the staff of my church because between working there part-time and the school full-time, I need something to organized my chaotic life. The Blackberry Pearl was the way to go! But today with the ease of downloaded apps and games and music, the once tool has become a tool and this bothers me for this reason, and I guilty of this: WASTING YOUR MONEY AND YOUR COMPANY'S MONEY ON YOUR TOY!

If you have a smartphone, there should be no reason you ever miss a date or don't know what's on your calendar. There should be no reason you allow tasks to go months undone. There should be no reason it takes a week or 2 to get back to an email.

If you primarily use your smartphone to play games, add photos to your sweet Facebook page, and Instagram the crap out of your Twitter account, but forget you could be costing your company (or yourself) hundreds of dollars a year for your game addiction and amateur photography skills, a reality check might need to be made!

It's sin to take advantage of your company, church, or personal bank account for a play toy. I myself am guilty of this...are you?

1) No matter the task, Christ first. I have found that the busier I am, the harder it is to stay close to Christ. I make excuse as to not to read my Bible but no matter how busy I am, the closer I have to be to Jesus. I don’t function well if I’m not. 

 2) Reaction is never an acceptable response when proactivity is always there. This and the next are very close in relation but the first deals with me. Planning ahead allows me to see out far enough that I have thought through all scenarios where surprises are met with anticipation instead of defeat.

 3) Procrastination on my part, doesn’t deem an emergency on someone else’s.  This deals with other people. When I have put something off or forgotten about something, I can’t expect that everyone will drop what they are doing to help me. I have to accept the natural consequence and work within my current scenario and not create a scenario that only works for me.

 4) Saying "Thank You!" and "Good job!" OFTEN makes correcting mistakes later, easier. If a leader only plays the role of a disciplinarian (teaching and correcting at will), the leader will teach their student only to fear the leader. If grace and commendation doesn't out-weigh everything else, trust will never be established and the student will always be wondering when their next "teachable" moment may be. A "teaching and correcting" type of leadership also doesn't allow for creative, out-side-of-the-box thinking. It's a modeling form of leadership that only says, "do it this way and don't question me."

 5) The team is your biggest source of accountability. To not have a team is just plain stupid. I have learned that if I don’t have a team that I am regularly interaction with, I tend to get a superiority complex. A team keeps you humble and allows you to be creative.

 6) When at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again. You’re never going to get it completely right the first time. So keep changing until it’s right!

 7) Speak truth about all situations. Live in reality. This is something that I think more people need to live their life by. I think we get deceived by our own “great” ideas that we tend to be blind to what reality is. Even if we tend to be right most of the time, that still isn’t an excuse for not listening to the people around you telling you you’re wrong.

 8) If it ain’t broke, break it. And then break it again! This has to do with the previous two principles but something can always be improved. After running a program or process the same way for a long time may continue to work, but could be ineffective. Doing something because “that’s what we’ve always done,” is a lazy excuse for not planning better a head of time. 

 9) Choose who you’re going to be, cater toward, and then pursue them with all that you have. Its hard to pursue what you want to be when you keep wrestling with who you use to be. You lie to yourself and to those around you if you can’t be honest with your reality. 

 10) Serving in the local church should be championed! No matter the job, your job should never be a replacement to your involvement in a local church. If you’re to busy to go to your small group, mentor a student, or even play a kazoo in the praise band, your priorities are not in order and I believe in sin. The Bible talks time and time again about how you are a member of a body. Don’t be a dead member who’s best use is to be amputated. Do something!

 

"What would happen if the mature men and women of your church decided to hide the children and young people of your church in their hearts for a lifetime? What if each child had a lifelong prayer supporter, a lifetime cheerleader, a lifetime partner to call before walking out on a marriage or jumping out a window after a devastating financial loss? WHAT DIFFERENCE WOULD IT MAKE?" -Bobb Biehl

What if every person in a church had someone that asked them "What are your priorities?" and "How can I help?"

What if every person in a church had someone that had someone who had gone before us on the mountain of life, but who pause and extend a hand to help us along the way or who extend a safety line of love and affirmation that may keep us from falling off the mountain?

What if every person in a church had someone that said, "I love you, I believe in you, I want to help you succeed. I want to make my experience and resources available to help you in any way I can to become all that God wants you to be?"

What if everyone had someone that was trying to help them reach their God-given potential?

How would that effect the church today?!

*all ideas here are from Mentoring by Bobb Biehl

Taken at Lake Ann Camp and Retreat Center

Let me tell you about today. Last night I was writing my paper on "Who Moved My Cheese?" I looked outside and saw green grass and a clear driveway. At midnight there was 3 inches of snow. This morning, at least 8 inches of snow. Here's a pic from outside the Welcome Center at camp and my driveway. Notice we were plowed out earlier today. Then we have about another 5-6 inches fall this afternoon and with wind, my driveway is now drifted shut. You can see the camp suburban on the side of the road because I wasn't even going to try to get into the driveway because the snow was to my knees. Definitely ready for the snow to go away and God to show me things that bloom with a warm sun!

A Leader is anyone who is moved to influence others to engage a problem or an opportunity for good. This book talks of being vulnerable and showing your weakness as a means of leading. So this post is going to be vulnerable. I am going to give you a glimpse into my last few years. I hope this doesn't come across as a pity party for Justin but a true reflection of what God has been bringing my heart and life through. Things I mention in this post I believe have everything to do with me and not the people or circumstances I talk about. I have worked through this to be able to passively lead others through what they may be going through. I have no bitterness and hatred in my heart toward anyone.

This is a long post, so read on if you want. I have warned you. But I hope if this is what you are going through, that you are encouraged.

So here we go.
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Allender says, "Why are we so reluctant to lead?...In order to reclaim the joy and passion of leadership, we must walk the valley of the shadow of name and name the cost of leadership...and the cost includes six realities: crisis, complexity, betrayal, loneliness, weariness, and glory." I have found that I am drawn to leading. I have been doing it as long as I can remember but never have I faced what I have faced in the last few years. Leadership for me was to give the appearance that everything was ok (even if it wasn't), and push through with strength and confidence (even if you didn't have any). This has proven a drain in my life and something I just can't do. I have been thinking through these six realities and will share how they have been shown to me.

CRISIS. "This is not a bump in the pavement that causes us to hold the steering wheel more tightly; it is the wall that we hit when steering with everything we've got-and it leaves us wondering how will we survive...Crisis serves to remind us that we are fundamentally not in control."- Allender
February 2009, I was asked to step down from my position as the Children's Director at Saylorville Baptist Church. I'm sure many of you, if you are reading this, do not know this. I actually resigned to avoid being publicly fired. Since that point, God has shown me everyday that I am not in control of anything. To that point, I thought I had it all figured out. I was arrogant and foolish to believe so. But over the last few months God has shown how that "firing" was what was needed to grab ahold of my prideful heart to see how I had been living my life; me in pilot seat.

COMPLEXITY. "All leaders must deal with competing values, demands, and perspectives." -Allender
Can I say, as someone who wants to lead, the juggling act of a leader is horrible?! You have to balance everyone's input and give a proper amount of time to understand what everyone wants, and then somehow create a vision and direction to lead people through. Oh, and I forgot to mention, have to check your own hopes and dreams within all of that! That's complex! And can I say, I wound do all of that in my own strength and "wisdom." Even during the complex times of life, leaning on God and others for help and wisdom is the only way to have a clear vision and direction.

BETRAYAL. "Anyone in leadership knows that critique, even when it's meant to help, stings like salt in a wound. At times even the rebuke of an enemy can be the very word of God, bit still it sears and wounds us." -Allender
I have always said, I want input into how I'm doing, or changes that need to be made. And then when I got them, I would be defensive and stand-offish. I wouldn't listen and I would feel betrayed. But it was my heart that would betray me. I believed the way I did things was right. This is pride!

LONELINESS. "This assumes a leader when he must absorb the inevitable expressions of disappointment from others when their legitimate expectations are not fulfilled...The leader must bear not only the loneliness but also the guilt that comes with knowing others' disappointment...Think about it: the leader is often the only one tossing and turning all night over his decisions and the consequences of his decisions, both of which lead to personal criticism."
I use a term with Terase called "unvocalized expectations." This is when I am suppose to do something that I didn't know I was suppose to do that brings about disappointment by someone else. BUT HOW IN THE WORLD WAS I SUPPOSE TO KNOW THE EXPECTATION IF IT WAS NEVER VOCALIZED (Men, can I get an AMEN)?! Here's what I'm learning:
1) having a servant heart is the first priority in anything I do. So when I'm asked to wash my popcorn bowls and there's other dishes, I serve my wife as Jesus would serve her and show her love.
2) If in doubt, ask questions, or expect the worst and do it! For the love Justin, just ask what else you can do! This one I still suck at! :)
3) My decisions effect other people. So how does all of this fit into loneliness? when I disappoint people with whatever decision I make, I feel lonely the majority of the time because I am always wondering if the decision I made was right. I always thought being an adult meant you figured things out and pushed through that. I'm realizing that I live everyday of my life in 8th grade all over. Insecure and doubtful.

WEARINESS. "This is really about this core struggle to hope despite the circumstances and our limitations, and not so much about stress and being tired. Will we continue to pray, dream, and fight for people when the battle looks pointless?"
Because I want to make the right decisions, and when the loneliness creeps up because my decision wasnt popular, I grow weary at why I am pursuing ministry, for instance. There were decisions I made as the Children's Director at Saylorville that weren't popular. Some I made in sin because I was relying on myself and my ideas, and others I still believe to this day were needed for the pruning of the ministry so it would grow strong. But when the criticism came, and the attacking of my competency came, I grew weary as to why I was doing it. This isn't any different than anyone else. We all go through through these times, whether it's a youth kid you're mentoring or your child that keeps making the same mistakes and you just know you have to keep praying and helping and doing whatever you can to make a difference, the longer you go, the wearier you get and the drive to push forward in the same manner wanes. But this leads to the last reality!

GLORY. "Glory is compelling. The more we taste, the deeper it's hook in our soul and the harder it is to dislodge the hook and flee from leadership. With all the suffering and struggle involved in leading others, why would we not bolt? For one reason: God pours out enough of his presence to keep us hooked. And God allures us to the point that we want to know how the next episode of the story will turn out. God is playing out his plot, and reluctant and limping servants, while being humbled as leaders, are lifted up to see his glory."
This is why I am here at Lake Ann Camp doing this internship and not still in the security and safety of Ankeny, IA! Because God's glory is what I strive for. I want God to use me in a huge way. He has given me a glimpse of what this could look like through the situation at Saylorville. Without that situation, I may still be going down a path that doesn't produce love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, etc. God is going to use me. Regardless of the trials of leading!

Taken at Iowa-Illinois Border