Friday, December 21, 2012

5 Books I read that changed my life in 2012...

I purchase lots of books...and I do actually get to reading most of them!  I've had the chance to read lots of great content in this past year, but I think I would choose these 5 books as the most impactful and transformational as I scan back thru the millions of words I've looked at in 2012:

1. CIRCLE MAKER by Mark Batterson--a book that has deeply impacted how I pray for my family, my ministry, and the level of faith I long to have in God's work in our world...our soccer team directly applied some of Batterson's ideas to shape our season...


2. NEXT CHRISTIANS by Gabe Lyons--a book that offers an incredible picture of hope and fresh thought for the coming generation of Christ followers as they participate in the restoration of this world God created and loves so deeply...our Terra Firma leaders read it as a vision for what God wants to do in the lives and our world thru the new students coming into CU...


3. LOVE DOES by Bob Goff--a book that inspires you to believe that God really does want you to live out a compelling, vibrant, active faith as you enter into the lives of people in every way...we read it as a soccer team and it helped us to live out in a new way the love we have for the game, our teammates, the world, and our God...and I continue to see it impact lives of students across campus as I share it...


4. WRECKED by Jeff Goins--a great read that causes you to think deeply about and then seek to flesh out in real life what life must look like when God wrecks you and your view of the world and even faith thru a life-changing experience with those in great need in our world...we are using it as the de-brief book for all of our students as they come home from our global opportunities trips and seek to have those unique experiences truly affect the direction of our lives as Christ followers...


5. THE ZAMBIA PROJECT by Chip Huber--I had to put this one on here because I think I read it at least seven or eight times this year in the editing process...and I continue to stand amazed at what God has done and is doing in this generation of students as they care about the global issues of poverty and justice present in our world...and it calls me daily to continue to live up to the things I have written as an author and disciple of Jesus...I have loved sharing it with friends at CU, at Wheaton Academy, at churches and Christian schools and universities, and my friends at World Vision, particularly connected to the 30 Hour Famine program...




Thursday, December 20, 2012

Seven habits of highly ineffective leaders

This is a great, albeit different description of leadership truths and ideas from Steven James in Leadership Journal...he refers to it as time-tested practices to ensure complete and utter failure...it resonated with me...

1 - Don't plan ahead

Don't fall into the trap of writing down your goals and objectives, or even worse, handcuffing yourself to specific times when you're supposed to feel obligated to do them. Instead, respond to things as they come up. Put off big projects until you have large chunks of uninterrupted time to accomplish them, or when you feel inspired. Then try to complete the task with one herculean effort.

2 - Go it alone

If you need to have someone checking up on you, it's a sure sign of your incompetence and lack of self-control. Independent-minded people make the most progress when they bypass the team and do their own thing. Accountability is overrated.

3 - Aim low

Only arrogant people set lofty goals. Those who dream big often end up flat on their face. At the end of the day, it's much better to aim for mediocrity and reach your goal rather than trying to do something extraordinary, and becoming frustrated when you can't quite accomplish it. Better safe than sorry. Those who risk the most never experience the security of living in the status quo.

4 - Point out the mistakes of others

People need to be aware of their failures or they'll never be able to change. So, keep an eye out for others' missteps or mishaps and then leak the word to the rest of your employees or volunteers. Be specific and stern. Don't give the person a chance to explain his actions since that's usually just a way of denial or shirking responsibility. It's even more beneficial to make the shortcomings of others public, so that other people in the organization can keep them in line.

5 - Mentally relive old failures

If you lost a job or got a demotion or didn't get the position you were vying for, brood over it. Dwelling on past mistakes, unresolved conflict, and ongoing disagreements will help give you perspective on your current situation. Obsessing over negative experiences helps you avoid them in the future.
Get into the habit of thinking about hurtful conversations you've had and coming up with things you wish you'd said, or clever comebacks that might've ended things right then and there. It'll give you that fire and motivation to speak up more authoritatively next time around.

6 - Wait until the last minute

You never know what the future holds so why waste your time doing things that might not even end up being necessary? Who knows, you might get fired, quit, or die and you'd just have wasted all of that time on that project. It's much more beneficial if you just put off working on something until the consequences of not doing it outweigh the effort it takes to do it. If other people hassle you about this, it just shows that they're not as good at working under pressure as you are.

7 - Take things personally

If people criticize your work, they are, in essence, attacking you. Criticism of a project you've worked on is a direct assault on your intelligence, personality, and character. As a matter of self-respect, it's important that you don't let them get away with that. If you don't stand up for yourself, you might come across as a pushover.
So, show your strength and conviction by defending every idea you have. Rather than "choosing your battles," remember that if someone criticizes your decisions, actions, or suggestions, they've already chosen to attack your personal self-worth. Don't let them get away with that.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2012/february-online-only/sevenhabits.html

Monday, December 17, 2012

Quotes from the Call by Os Guinness

I've read Os Guinness' book several times...and had stimulating conversations with various groups of students about it...in fact, our senior capstone students at CU are reading it now as they get ready to leave CU...and today I am working on a talk I will give to our first year students on CALLING next semester as they begin to think about careers and life purpose and exactly what they hope their college experience will do in charting the course and mission of their life...

So here's a few quotes from the book that again stand out to me...such profound words...


Calling is the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to his summons and service.

Our primary calling as followers of Christ is by him, to him, and for him.  Our secondary calling, considering who God is sovereign, is that everyone, everywhere, and in everything should think, speak, live, and act entirely for him.

The truth is not that God is finding us a place for our gifts but that God has created us and our gifts for a place of his choosing—and we will not only be ourselves when we are finally there.

A life lived listening to the decisive call of God is a life lived before one audience that trumps all others—the Audience of One.

God’s call resonates in us at depths no other call can reach and draws us on and out and up to heights no other call can scale or see.

When Jesus calls, he calls us one by one.  Comparisons are idle, speculations about others a waste of time, and envy as silly as it is evil.  We are each called individually, accountable to God alone, to please him alone, and eventually to be approved by him alone. If ever we are tempted to look around, compare notes, and use the progress of others to judge the success of our own calling, we will hear what Peter heard: “What is that to you? Follow me!”

Challenged, inspired, rebuked, and encouraged by God’s call, we cannot for a moment settle down to the comfortable, the mediocre, the banal, and the boring.  The call is always to the higher, the deeper, and the father.

“You see things as they are and ask ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were and ask ‘Why not?’”
-–George Bernard Shaw

“I don’t do big things. I do small things with big love.” -–Mother Teresa

Doing the right thing at the right moment multiplies its effect incalculably.

“You have never talked to a mere mortal.  Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals who we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” –-C.S. Lewis in Weight of Glory

Do you long to rise to the full stature of who you are created to be? To know the passion of the intensity of life at its fullest? To be your utmost for his highest? Listen to Jesus; answer his call.




Wednesday, December 12, 2012

10 Ways to an Extraordinary Life...by BOB GOFF

I've been reading and talking about the book LOVE DOES a lot this year...with a bunch of different groups of guys on the CU campus...and it is impacting everyone who reads it...Bob Goff has become an inspirer and motivator for us...and here's a piece from RELEVANT I loved...check it out below:
BOB GOFF'S FIELD NOTES FROM A LIFE WELL-LIVED...
1. Don't Let Anyone Go to Voicemail
“We get really busy,” Goff says. “But the less time Jesus had on earth, the more available He became to people.”
So when Goff put his phone number in the back of Love Does, he made the promise to himself to answer every call—regardless of whether or not he knew who it was. There are practical limits to this, of course. “I don’t feel guilty if I’m on the other line, or on a plane,” he says. But from where Goff sits, Jesus wouldn’t have ignored many phone calls. So neither does he. “If I get a call, I answer it,” he says. “And it’s been terrific!
“There’s a God we can talk to anytime, anywhere, about anything, and I’m so glad He doesn’t screen my calls—because I don’t have anything that’s particularly interesting to say. And I’m understanding that better because I’m available to people.”
2. Don't Make Appointments
Goff says, “When someone calls me and says, ‘Can we meet two Tuesdays from now at 3 p.m.?’ I say, ‘How about now?’ If you call me two Tuesdays from now at 3, I’ll probably say the same thing.”
That’s right. As implausible as it sounds, Bob Goff, lawyer and Ugandan consulate, doesn’t set appointents.
The benefit of this thinking becomes evident even now—he is, as we speak, driving home from an impromptu meeting with a young man who needed to talk.
“Guess what!” he says, laughing. “I didn’t have any appointments that I needed to cancel ... I’ve got all the time in the world because I don’t have any appointments.”
Goff insists when your life is appointment-free, your time is at the service of others instead of your personal demands. Plus, you become a different person when you structure your life around others’ needs.
“Can you imagine a lawyer who doesn’t make appointments?” Goff asks, recognizing the absurdity of it. “But it’s been great.”
3. Be Incredibly Inefficient at Love
“Don’t do an efficient brand of love,” Goff says.
Then he does what he does best—launches into a story without missing a beat.
“The woman who lives across the street from us has cancer. She called me up and told me the bad news, and I told her, ‘I’m not going to call you ever again.’ She’s like, ‘What?’
“I went to Radio Shack and got us two walkie-talkies, and it was terrific. For the last year, we’ve been talking on walkie-talkies every night. It’s like we’re both 14-year-olds and we’re both in tree forts.
“She took a turn for the worse about four days ago, so this morning, I woke up about 5, and I went to the hospital. I sent the nurse in with a walkie-talkie, and I sat in the next room and called her up. I heard her just start crying—because there’s something inefficient and beautiful about it. We were sitting in a hospital, separated by a room, talking on walkie-talkies.”
Here he breaks off and seems choked up for a moment.
Then he continues. “Be inefficient with your love. The more in-efficient, the better. It would have been a lot more efficient for God to not send Jesus to die for us. That was very inefficient love. But so sweet and so tender.”
4. Don't Have a Bible Study
When it comes to Bible studies, Goff says simply, “I’m done. I’ve got all the information I need.”
But this doesn’t leave the Bible out of his daily routine. To the contrary, he’s upped the ante.
“I’ve met with the same guys every Friday who I’ve been meeting with for a decade,” he says. “And we have a Bible Doing.”
The idea, Goff says, is basically that memorization is only effective if it motivates you to action. It’s great when believers meet together to internalize the Bible, but why not externalize it as well?
Goff is likewise unconventional in his approach to a morning quiet time. “I can’t do them,” he says. “I think I got sent to the principal too much when I was a kid.”
“Instead, I take Scripture, I let it wash over me, and I say, ‘What do I really think about this?’” Then he shares his reflections by sending out a morning tweet.
This morning habit helps his day start on the right foot in front of God and everyone else. “It helps me dwell in Christ,” he says. “But it also helps me not be a pill midday. I can’t send a beautiful tweet in the morning and then be a pill.”
5. Quit Stuff
“Every Thursday, I quit something,” Goff says. It’s one of his more infamous habits, one that he follows faithfully—and, often, dramatically. He’s been known to break apartment leases, throw out furniture and quit jobs. “You can quit cussing if you want,” he says, “but go a little higher up on the tree. It can be something really good.”
His most recent Thursday resignation was from the board of a prominent charity. “I called the guy that runs it up and said, ‘I’m out!’ And he said, ‘How come?’ And then he paused and said, ‘No! Thursday!’”
The idea is not to be a liability to charitable organizations (although that might be part of the fallout). It’s to give yourself room to grow and to give God room to work. The patterns of life can weigh down and hold back. Quitting things forces you forward to explore new opportunities, to try things you wouldn’t have time for otherwise and to fill your life with things that are fresh, different
and dangerous.
6. Do What You're Made to Do
In today’s functional culture, the common question is, “What am I able to do?” People take tests to determine skill sets and aptitude and then march off to pursue a career based on the results.
But Goff says the better question is, “What am I made to do?” He goes on to say, “It’s as simple as asking, ‘What are the things you think are beautiful? And you want in your life?’ ... And then there’s other stuff you stink at, and they cause you a bunch of stress. I just try and do more of the first and less of the second.”
7. Get More Unschooled, Ordinary Friends
For most people, friendship is accidental. You see someone often enough, find a few common interests, hang out and strike up an easy friendship. New friends probably come from the people you work with or go to church with. The childhood idea of “making friends,” a proactive pursuit, has been replaced with the idea of “letting friends happen.”
Goff suggests making friendship intentional and, moreover, risky. Because sometimes you can learn more from friends who stand just left of center than those with whom you share everything in common.
One of Goff’s dearest friendships began with a simple thank you, for example.
“They call me Mr. G at the airport, because I’m there just about every day,” Goff says. And before every flight, the same TSA security guard—Adrian—checked Goff’s ID. After a few months of this, Goff decided to extend his appreciation.
“You start every day for me,” he recalls telling Adrian. “When I think of you, I think of God. You’re so tender and kind to everybody!”
And just like that, the diminutive security guard put his arms around Goff and held him, in front of a line of waiting passengers. “It started this terrific friendship,” Goff says. “We spent the next six Christmases together with his family at our house.”
Adrian tragically passed away last summer, but not before coming to Jesus. “And now, when I think of heaven,” Goff says, “I don’t think of St. Peter. I think of a guy like Adrian, who’s checking IDs. And all of that came because I decided to get more unschooled, ordinary friends.”
8. Jump the Tracks
Goff spends most Wednesday mornings at Disneyland, prepping to teach his courses at Pepperdine University. From his vantage point on Tom Sawyer Island, he watches hundreds of park visitors board the monorail, content to be whisked wherever the train takes them.
And their park experience, says Goff, suffers because of it. The real adventure, both in Disneyland and in life, is when you venture outside the fixed loop.
But Goff is quick to point out there’s a difference between fighting the system and choosing to explore new paths outside the system. He says everyone should be jumping more tracks: “Not with a militancy. Not with a black arm band around your arm, just saying what you’re against. But with a resolve.”
And what can you expect to find off the beaten path? Adventure, and good company. “I’ll know more about my character, and I’ll know more about Jesus,” he says. “I’ll meet a lot of cool people.”
9. Crowd-Surf Each Other
At a speaking event, Goff met a man who had just received word that his 8-year-old son had been diagnosed with leukemia. Someone suggested everyone lay hands on him and pray for healing.
“That means the four dudes next to him put hands on him, and the guy in row 50 is really just putting hands on the guy in row 49,” he says.
Not satisfied with this set-up, Goff called out, just as the group was bowing their heads, “Let’s crowd surf this guy.”
So the man was passed up and down the rows of the auditorium. “That’s the picture that’s etched in my mind,” he says. “This man in agony and delight.”
Goff, who is big on physical touch, doesn’t shake hands. “If we say we’re the body of Christ, let’s act like it,” he says. “Let’s stop treating this faith thing like it’s a business trip. I want us to treat it like it’s a family. Family picks up the phone. Family surfs each other. Family hugs each other.”
Goff’s personal policy is to hug whoever he meets. It doesn’t suit everyone’s comfort zone, but he says it’s part of his identity as a believer. And the benefit of breaking through these bubbles of security is being opened up to a deeper understanding of community.
“I’m the big winner,” Goff insists, on crowd-surfing others. “I understand more about my faith and the idea of being a body.”
10. Take the Next Step
Many people are passionate but often have no idea how to get where they want to end up. Goff says you don’t really have to. You just have to start.
“If I could do this Jedi move over a lot of people, I’d just tell them to take the next step,” he says. “And then the next step. You don’t know all the steps, but most people know the next step.”
And even if not, Goff says that’s no excuse. “I’m not that freaked out about knowing what the next step is. Because I know that if I trip, I’ll fall forward. I’ll be moving toward the next thing.”
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/whole-life/10-ways-live-extraordinary-life

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Advent Conspiracy


The Advent Conspiracy is a movement. It's tens of thousands of Christians around the world throwing the kind of birthday party Jesus loves. It started in 2006 with just four churches. Today there are Advent Conspirators in over 20 countries, celebrating Christmas more deeply and blessing others with safe drinking water, offered in Jesus' name.


The conspiracy is based on four simple ideas:



WORSHIP FULLY

Christmas begins with a baby born in a manger. He changed the course of the stars and turned fathers' hearts to their children. The heavens sang his praise as angels sang glory to God in the highest and on earth his peace. Shepherds praised God and traveled to Bethlehem to see him. Magi journeyed from the East to worship him. His mother treasured these things in her heart. They called him "Immanuel"—"God with us." He proclaimed his presence to the end of the age.
What we do unto others, we do unto him.
Again this Christmas babies will be born in ramshackle homes. Herod will not try to kill them, but their drinking water will. Again Jesus will turn our hearts to children. We who still hear angels will journey to see Christ in the least of these. Our camels traded for drill rigs, we will bear the gift of life: clean drinking water, offered in Jesus' name. Mothers will treasure these things in their hearts. This is full worship.
Worship derives from Old-English words meaning "worth-ship."
What we give worth to is what we worship: possessions, God, shopping, children, money, Jesus. We worship all the time. Advent is a time to consciously direct our worship towards Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. A time to worship fully.

SPEND LESS

For God so loved the world he gave us a shopping season."
Wait a minute... Jesus came to give abundant life. So why does Christmas leave us feeling so spent? When we spend less anxiety, energy, worry, and money on things that don't matter, then the things that do will come to the surface of our lives. We all love Jesus, but it's hard to feel it when life gets clogged with obligation, traffic, stores, and debt.
Seek out just a few people you trust and agree that this year you are not going to commodify your love for each other. Figure out how to give each other time, attention, and love, then channel the money you save to something that reflects the heart of Jesus.
Christmas abounds with God's energy. If we don't misspend it, we will find ourselves free to worship, love, and give more authentically. Two percent of America's Christmas budget could drill water wells for half a billion thirsty people. That would honor God and save lives, but spending less is really about us having more life.

GIVE MORE

When you give a lot of gifts are you really giving much? People on their deathbeds never want more stuff. They want time—that's what's really valuable.
Life itself is God's gift of time to us. In the greatest Christmas gift of all—Jesus—God gave us a relationship with a person. We're giving more when we give our time. Giving ourselves to others is the original Christmas tradition.
Make a thoughtful gift that shows someone you've been paying attention. Spend time with the kids. Sled, ride a bike, play a game, take a hike, go fishing. Give a massage, baby-sit, fly a kite, talk. Buy a pound of special coffee you'll only drink with mom. Write a poem, draw a picture, bake something yummy.
By giving time you'll spend less; you'll be free to give away a little of what you saved and God will multiply it. In Sub-Saharan Africa, women spend 40 billion hours just hauling water. On average $1 provides water for one person for one year. Imagine 40 billion hours of mothers giving time to their children instead of hauling water. That's a lot of time, a lot of love, and a lot of joy.

LOVE ALL

The Christmas story is a love story. The grand narrative of God getting his long-since-fallen people to turn back to the manger. It continues with the cross and our Savior's perfect love transforming even the most tragic defeat into the ultimate victory.
This is a season for love to triumph. It's a season for love to make anything possible. Beyond the white-noise of holiday frenzy, God has never stopped inviting us into his heart. We know how our love story ends. It ends with God and the Church inviting all who are thirsty to drink of the free gift of the water of life.
The door to this possibility opens in a manger. We tell the story of Christmas with our lives. It can be about the prophets or about the profits. It can be about a newborn king or a gift-wrapped box and a thing. It can be about time spent with our families and clean water for the least of these, or about shopping, lines, payments, and fines.
It can start at the manger and end with redemption, or start at the mall and end with convention. It's not that there's something wrong with the shopping mall—it's that the better story is about loving all.


Wednesday, November 28, 2012

KINDLES in AFRICA

Check out this incredible article about the power of the KINDLE in African education...love seeing technology bring opportunity and change...

In the remote village of Adeiso, Ghana, when a bright child such as 14-year-old Emefa asks for something new to read, the answer is usually, “Maybe, in a few years, if the shipment arrives, there will be something.” This is typical of sub-Saharan Africa, where lack of access to books is one of the biggest limiting factors for a child’s future.
But because of new technology, this may be changing.
That’s the hope of Worldreader, a non-profit organization devoted to using Kindles to bring books—and the life-changing, power-creating ideas within them—to all in the developing world. “We are working in a part of the world where there are no books,” says Susan Moody of Worldreader. “With Kindles, you go from empty libraries and children unable to get their hands on reading material, to suddenly being able to carry a library around with them in their hand.”
Why Kindles? Susan explains: “The Kindle is a device that was made for you and me to use on the bus and at night in our beds, but it’s a device that actually meets the needs of the developing world very nicely. Kindles have become increasingly affordable, the battery-life can be as long as a month, and they are easily recharged using wind or solar energy. Since they use cell-phone networks to operate, which are already omnipresent even in the remotest parts of Africa, they don’t require new infrastructure in the schools. And the kids can read them outside, even in the brightest sunlight.”
“Best of all,” continues Susan, “one Kindle holds more than a thousand books, and new books can be downloaded in 60 seconds. That means printing costs disappear, and shipping gets reduced to nearly nothing. Suddenly it becomes feasible to imagine every child having access not only to books, but to a choice between thousands of books from all over the world.”
The situation at Adeiso Junior High, where Emefa is a student, was bleak. “They were one of the schools lucky enough to have a library, but the library had very few books, and 10 of them were The History of Utah,” says Susan. “While book drives are often meant with the best of intentions, often times the books that arrive aren't the ones that will inspire a child to read more.” Last year, when Worldreader brought Kindles to the kids at Adeiso, each one was loaded with hundreds of children’s stories and local Ghanaian folk tales, in English as well as Twi, the local language.
“The children could operate the Kindle within minutes. They are used to operating cell phones, so the gadgetry wasn’t foreign to them. Within minutes kids were downloading books and reading.”
When Emefa finished one book and asked for another, the answer was one she wasn’t expecting. “Sure! Just push this button…”
So with all their new choices, what are the kids reading? “We see that children love to read stories about things that are impacting them,” says Susan, “stories about how to care for a friend that has malaria, and other everyday problems in their lives. They are reading local books by local writers, while at the same time they are exploring ideas from around the world. They are reading Curious George, they are downloading samples from international newspapers, and they are even reading things like Jay Z’s autobiography.”
Mohamed Aminou, a teacher at Adeiso Junior High School, was one of the first to use the Kindle in his classroom. “From the very day that the children had this Kindle in their hand, you could see that they were motivated. They take it everywhere they go, and they are reading, and they have delight in what they are reading. The ability of children to read more, also to read ahead— that ability has increased. It has gone high!” Mohamed hopes that soon Kindles will arrive for all the children. “The school would be flooded with kids if that should happen.”
Worldreader has brought over 200,000 e-books to children in Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda, and their new goal is to increase that number to a million. They are working with publishers and companies like Amazon, who donated the initial Kindles, delivered the e-books using Whispercast, and has recently increased its support with additional free Kindles and free cloud computing from Amazon Web Services.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thanksgiving for Mission

Today is Thanksgiving 2012...having traveled again this past May to Zambia I am still freshly reminded of the truly remarkable material and physical blessings my life features...wealth and health and food and clean water and housing and transportation and entertainment and medicines and education and comfort so, so far beyond the wildest dreams and imaginations of the vast majority of the people in our world...

In a week away from my work world and our daily life in Grand Rapids, I am reminded how much I love being with my kids and my wife...there's nothing greater than relishing being a family together...

And in 2012, I am remarkably grateful for a mission, a life calling, a purpose in my life and my career that connects and flows from the heart of the One who has created, redeemed, and empowered even me to be part of His compelling and beautiful and most satisfying vision for our world and lives...

I'm thankful for the privilege to introduce people to the transforming and life-saving and life-giving words and example of the man, the Lord of all named Jesus...

I'm thankful for the chance I have daily to invest in and develop future and present leaders who will be incredible voices and vision-casters for the church for generations to come as they discover and begin to use their strengths and passions...

I'm thankful for the chance to seek to be part of building a community of young men into a model of athletic excellence and surprising character as we play the beautiful game in a very different way on and off the pitch...

I'm thankful that diseases like HIV/AIDS and MALARIA and issues like extreme poverty and modern-day slavery and oppression have gripped the heart and then moved the hands of hundreds of students on our campus and millions across the world as we seek to help God's Kingdom emerge in every place and person on our planet...

I'm thankful to have the chance learn about and then communicate together with colleagues near and far about the spiritual journey of this next generation of students inside and outside the church walls...

I'm thankful to work toward creating a dynamic and life-changing four years plus where young adults are prepared for cultural and global engagement in all arenas and all settings after their college experience...

I'm thankful for dozens and dozens of lunches at QDOBA and coffees at Starbucks with current and former students and staff members working through life's challenges and changes and opportunities as our lives are WRECKED and RESTORED by a God who remains good and present thru it all...

I'm thankful for the chance to teach and debate and search the Scriptures together in academic settings looking at global issues of poverty and justice...

And I'm thankful for a mission in this life that isn't just temporary or unfulfilling or empty or shallow or boring or short-term in nature...may God's grand mission for my life continue to be a beacon of light and the clearest of voices in the days and years to come...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING...






Monday, November 12, 2012

MONDAY...A Soccer Season Reflection

Today is Monday...the start of another week, and another day closer to winter weather and the soon coming Holiday season...

But to be honest, it's a different Monday than any other because we are not going to be together on the field as a CU men's soccer community...for the first time since August 10th we won't be in season...

We won't be thinking about an upcoming match or which passing sequences we will be doing to start up practice at 330 pm...

To be honest, this Monday always comes too early...and perhaps more than ever in 2012...because we fully expected to be practicing today and playing in a NAIA National Tournament game this coming weekend...our players had done everything possible to put us in the place for that to happen...

Today came too soon because our season ended so suddenly, so quickly, and so harshly when a 5th penalty kick in a Championship match found the back of the next on an amazing Friday night on our home field in front of all our family and friends and classmates...

But in the midst of lingering disappointment and many thoughts of what could and should have been, today also brings so much joy as we think over the last 3 months...and ultimately 4 years in this soccer community...

We celebrate 14-3-2 this year, back to back WHAC conference titles, so many golden goal wins, and perhaps the finest classes of players we have ever had in our current senior group...

We celebrate young men who enter as freshman and now leave as men of character and commitment and authentic faith who will bring great good to the people and places God calls them next...

We celebrate over 6000 families in Africa and a community and school in the Dominican Republic that will never be the same because a group of soccer players believed that Scripture's call to care for the least of them invited them to use the platform of soccer to take on global giants like malaria and HIV and extreme poverty...

And we celebrate the word legacy...a legacy that leaves for all to see beautiful and passionate soccer, a fun loving spirit giving life to a campus, future doctors and lawyers and teachers and coaches and future business leaders who learned what they needed to do in CU classrooms, and so, so many relationships that have changed the lives of their teammates and their coaches in transforming ways...

These are the things we think about today and give praise to our God for as we reflect on 14 seniors who have changed the face of a soccer program, the athletic community of a university, and global village communities on the other side of the world ...

Today is also a day where we watch our seniors leave the locker room meeting while many other CU soccer players stay on the locker room benches...

This is the day where the baton is passed to a new group of seniors and a new group of players and leaders...it's a day filled with hope and to be honest some apprehension about what happens next season...

Today offers a chance for players to work harder than ever before in the next 9 months so we can do the unthinkable thing called a WHAC Conference THREE-PEAT...

Today offers a chance to read and talk and pray together in small groups this spring to develop accountability and get on the same page spiritually as a group of Jesus followers...

Today offers the chance to travel to Zambia and use one's soccer gifts and compassionate heart to bring healing and hope among truly amazing people in a beautiful land...

Today offers the chance to grow NIGHT OF NETS into something truly a community event as we invite more people, more teams, more churches to come together to provide nets that do indeed change lives...

And today offers the remarkable challenge and opportunity to build a new legacy, for new players to emerge as outstanding college soccer players, to keep the locker room as the living room for a family, and for dynamic graduating leaders to be replaced by a new group of young men who will follow the example and continue the model left behind by those who they have watched in previous seasons...

Today is a very different day, a difficult day...and a day that is the first day of a new chapter in the continuing story God is writing in the lives of past and present members of  the Cornerstone men's soccer community...

I for one, can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring as we build on yesterday...


Philippians 1:3-8 (New Living Translation)

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.



Thursday, November 8, 2012

Ten foreign aid goals for the president


As President Obama prepares for his next term, World Vision recommends these international assistance objectives.

By Robert Zachritz, World Vision U.S. senior director of advocacy and government relations

It’s been a hotly contested election campaign, and the major issues have been debated endlessly. But one area of policy has been overlooked — foreign aid. Although foreign assistance composes only about 1 percent of the federal budget, it makes an enormous difference in saving lives, reducing poverty, preventing conflict, and creating goodwill. So what should the next administration’s foreign aid agenda look like? World Vision suggests the following priorities:

1. Don’t cut aid
During the next presidential term, there will be huge pressure to reduce the deficit. But it is crucial to preserve global humanitarian accounts. In addition to lifting millions out of poverty, effective foreign aid helps create a more peaceful and prosperous world that ultimately serves the security and economic interests of the United States. Cutting foreign aid is like
shooting yourself in the foot.

2. End preventable child deaths
This has already proved to be a quick win. In the 1960s, preventable child deaths were around 23 million. In 2009, this number came down to 9.1 million. Today the figure is about 6.9 million, despite a growing global population. The president can accelerate the decline by supporting relatively inexpensive programs that combat the biggest child killers — namely diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria.

3. Lead the fight against slavery
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPRA) created the first comprehensive federal law to address modernday slavery. It helps prevent trafficking of children and adults into the sex trade and other forms of exploitative labor, and it enables prosecution of traffickers and protection of survivors. Every few years, the act needs to be reauthorized to close loopholes and maintain funding for its enforcement. Last year, this vital piece of legislation expired as a result of congressional partisanship. The president should ensure
reauthorization and restore U.S. leadership in the global fight against slavery.

4. Make poverty history
In 2000, world leaders agreed to eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that sought the radical reduction of the most extreme forms of poverty. The goals include items such as achieving universal primary education and reducing child mortality. Great progress has been made, but the goals expire in 2015. Discussions have begun on what comes next. The president should take a leading role in formulating new goals that build on the successes of the MDGs.

5. Feed the hungry
At the 2009 G8 Summit in Italy, leaders of the world’s leading industrial nations pledged $22 billion for agricultural development to help ensure the world produces enough food to feed its growing population. The initiative was called “Feed the Future.” The president should continue this good work and accelerate investment in agriculture and effective nutrition programs —particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, which suffers the greatest food shortages.

6. Give peace a chance
Some 1.5 billion people live in fragile states bedeviled by recurring conflict. These states account for 71 percent of under-5 deaths; 77 percent of children not in primary school; and 65 percent of people without access to safe water. The president must facilitate resolution and mediation of these festering disputes through increased diplomacy and support for local and international mediation efforts.

7. Combat AIDS and malaria
President George W. Bush created the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). President Obama has continued both of these life-saving programs, though funding has remained flat. The president should bolster investment in both programs, allowing for the expansion of treatment and prevention efforts and the saving of many more lives.

8. Seek justice
The president should prioritize the promotion of democratic reforms and functioning court systems. This includes respect for human rights, speedy trials, and trial by jury, as well as prevention of unreasonable seizure of property, excessive bail demands, and cruel and unusual punishments. If citizens are confident that there are fair systems to protect life and
property, it fosters peace and stability.

9. Get more bang for bucks
Making the most effective use of limited global development dollars is a continuing challenge. The president and Congress should invest in aid programs that demonstrate transparency and good results. If necessary, they should insist on progress toward democracy and reduced corruption as a condition of assistance.

10. Work together
Global poverty can only be successfully met by combining resources and expertise. In Zambia, a partnership involving the U.S. and Zambian governments, businesses, and several humanitarian organizations developed a program called RAPIDS that delivered life-saving assistance to thousands suffering from AIDS. The president should seek to partner with businesses, foundations, universities, humanitarian organizations, and faith-based organizations to meet the world’s most pressing needs.

http://www.worldvision.org/news/president-elect-winner-foreign-aid?open&campaign=105418219

Friday, October 5, 2012

NIGHT OF NETS 2012: How God Chooses the Unlikely to Bless Those He Loves...again, and again, and again...

The final chapter of my Zambia Project book is about how God chose to bless my life and my family's life in a most incredible way in our transition to Cornerstone through the relationships we have built with the coaches, families, and players connected to the men's soccer program at CU...they continue to be a remarkable source of joy and community and encouragement in our lives...and God has even seen fit to connect my global passion for justice and living out the Gospel in word and deed to this crew of guys who love to knock a ball around a grass pitch every day...

And now God is writing the next chapter of the book...in people's lives inside our team and more and more outside that group at CU...and of course in the lives of our friends and brothers and sisters in sub-Saharan Africa...the next piece of God's story took us to Zambia this summer and introduced us to new friends we fell in love with, and broke our hearts meeting families and children affected by hunger, HIV/AIDS, extreme poverty, and a disease not seen in America called malaria...and God's Spirit blew fresh and caused me and this generation of students to once again wrestle deeply with how we are to respond to what we know is taking place in our world as people in a position of blessing and influence and resources...

We sat in a small guest house room one night in Lusaka and talked about what we had seen one day in a village community...and decided that this little soccer event/project called Night of Nets could no longer be small in scope or size...because God's heart for His people demanded that we be a voice and an advocate for those who often suffered out of the radar in our world...and who simply needed a mesh bed net to save the lives of their kids and help create a new future for the church and the country of Zambia...

So we decided we had to blow up this malaria bed net project and get thousands and thousands more bed nets than we had ever provided before...simply because Alex's family deserved it...and we were without a shadow of a doubt one of God's responses to their cries and prayers...but we had no idea how we would make something 5 times bigger than it had been the year before on our campus...

So we made NIGHT OF NETS grow on the calendar and decided we would pray and lead and personally give and engage because we knew we were called and now responsible to do whatever we could for those sleeping without a bed net while mosquitoes around them threatened their lives...

And I still doubted and wondered and questioned if we could really do something big on a college campus...and in the midst of my petty doubts God surprised me as He has over and over again...random students dropped hundreds of dollars on my desk, elementary schools in other states adopted the project as their own, young kids sold Gatorade in cups on hot days in their neighborhoods, and soccer players and volleyball players invited those they knew to come to their matches and change lives through the games they played...

We even had one of those nights you think only happens on big screens as our team defeats its biggest rival on a golden goal in overtime before record crowds who give generously to our cause way beyond our wildest dreams...and I sit on the sidelines watching it all happen as my 9 year old son bought 3 bed nets on the way into the match and sprinted on to the field to join a bunch of college kids in an impromptu goal mouth celebration...silently praising the God who loves making dreams come true...and using soccer players on a small college campus to help end a disease that kills more people than any other in our world directly today...

I mean really, how does a little fundraising idea sparked by the ideas of a few college guys who love the same game as their African counterparts grow to become a can't miss calendar event, a major culture shaping force in our community where a million other things compete for our resources, our attention, and our hearts...

400 students and family members are now wearing NIGHT of NETS shirts around campus...and well over half of our campus has been part of a bed net campaign they weren't aware of not so long ago...

And over 4000 bed nets from over $25,000 donated will be given to families desperate for one on the other side of the world through college athletes and students in a west MI world...and I rejoice along with Jesus at the next chapter, the story that simply will not end, because God's still at work in the lives of those who the church has written off and the world has pushed out of their sight...it's a story I love watching being written in full color...and it's a story I know is not even close to getting to the END...

That's been the last 10 days of my life...I wouldn't trade them for anything...this is what God dreamed of doing all along...that's our NIGHT of NETS story for 2012...can't even imagine what NON 2013 might bring...


Thursday, October 4, 2012

Night of NETS 2012 Video

Here's a link to the video Josh Rimel put together for our Night of Nets campaign at CU this fall...it captures so well why we are so passionate about using the athletic platform to provide bed nets for families in sub-Saharan Africa...it is personal for us this year...enjoy...and consider responding to the global issue that captures your heart as malaria did ours...

http://vimeo.com/49946859

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Zambia Trip Video

Tonight I am getting together with the gang of folks that I traveled with to Zambia this past May. I can't wait to laugh at funny trip moments, talk about how are lives are different because of our time in Africa, and pray fervently together for our Night of Nights events next week that we have created on campus to provide bed nets for those impacted by malaria. I will even give them the book WRECKED to read as we continue to think about our next steps as people who long to be Advocates for the needs we have seen and share the ways God is at work in a place we have fallen in love with on the other side of the world. And here's a video one of our team members made to summarize our trip and share our story. Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm_0_sBGNEQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Friday, September 14, 2012

Maybe We Should Try Something Different by TIM ELMORE


Tim Elmore recently wrote about some interactions he had with faculty members at colleges and high schools and the students they were teaching and leading where they expressed some significant concerns about how they communicated and perceived each other...this list below hits on the topic he terms "Turn Artificial Maturity into Authentic Maturity".  I found this list helpful as I continue to seek to educate, engage, and transform the lives of this incredible generation...here's his thoughts:
1.  Face-to-Face Relationships
To complement their time in front of a screen (interacting in virtual contexts), I suggest caring adults establish environments where students interact in face-to-face relationships. For instance, my wife and I have planned parties and asked our kids to help host the guests who came. Early on, they learned to connect with adults, take their coats, ask if they wanted something to drink and make introductions to other guests. While this may sound basic, it was a relationship boot camp for our children.
2.  Genuine (as Opposed to Virtual) Projects and Experiences
To balance all the data and virtual games they experience, I suggest caring adults furnish opportunities for kids to get involved with real, honest to goodness projects in the community. For instance, sit down and choose together a work project like painting mailboxes in the neighborhood, or raking leaves in friends’ yards, or even planning a fund raiser and going door to door to receive donations from neighbors. The project simply needs to be something that represents good, hard work.
3.  Multi-Generational Exposure
One primary cause of artificial maturity today is that so many kids, especially teens, live in a “social silo.” Adolescents spend about sixteen hours a week interacting with adults and about sixty hours a week interacting with their peers. What’s shocking, however, is to discover that not that long ago—and for most of human history—these numbers were almost exactly reversed. Adults were the primary socializing force, but they’ve been replaced by other teens. By creating places for kids to interact with people far older and younger than they are, it pushes them out of their comfort zones and self-absorption.
4. Saving Money Toward a Goal
This idea can serve many purposes. Together with a student, choose a goal they want to achieve that requires a significant sum of money to reach it. It could be a big trip they hope to take, or something they want to buy at a store or even a party they are planning. The catch is—they must come up with the funds to pull it off. Help them create a budget. Then encourage them to save, raise or earn the money it will take to reach the objective. Work with them to set incremental goals (if this is appropriate), to pace their spending and plan toward each step along the way.
5.  Cross-Cultural Travel
It’s been said that travel provides a greater educational experience than any classroom. The education kids get when they travel in a different culture is not simply about history or math or geography; it’s about life. When a young person travels, their perspective not only broadens, but their capacity to wait and endure differences in culture deepens as well. (Most other cultures are less time-driven than the U.S.) As my kids grew up, I took them on several trips to both industrialized countries as well as developing nations—and it accelerated their maturity.
6.  Participation on a Team
Far too frequently, our kids play on teams or serve on teams, but fail to gain as much as they should from the experience. I believe true teamwork is an art and very few get to enjoy the fruit of genuine camaraderie. Synergy is what happens when those serving together experience results that are bigger than the sum total of each individual. I wish every kid in the world had the chance to participate on a team that experienced a sense of destiny, a sense of family and a militant spirit about reaching their goal. Why not create environments conducive to this kind of experience?
7. Age-appropriate Mentors
In my book, Generation iY—Our Last Chance to Save Their FutureI share how both my kids spent time with mentors when they were thirteen years old. Bethany, our first born, chose six women who served as one-day mentors for her that year. Later, Jonathan and I spent a year together with five other dads and their sons, meeting with men who challenged and encouraged them as they matured. We met with an Army Colonel, a CEO, a football coach, a pilot, an athlete and a pastor. Both of my kids would say these relationships provided a model for their growth and vision.