A Review of FAITH FOR EXILES

I've now spent the last 30 years of my professional life teaching and coaching and discipling and building relationships with the NEXT generation of Christian students and young adults. It's been incredibly fulfilling, brought me great joy, and full of challenges in the invitation that I've extended to them to live a different and compelling life as followers of Jesus among their peers and in our culture and world.

I think it's pretty honest to say that there has never been a time in those 30 years more filled with negativity, daunting statistics, and great uncertainty, especially in the American/Western church culture, when people look forward to the future as it relates to young people and their engagement with Scripture, Jesus, and His Church.

The books written by Dave Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons and Mark Matlock have been incredible works that have detailed some of the challenges faced inside and outside the Church as well as the unique opportunities provided for this generation of young Christ followers.  UNCHRISTIAN, YOU LOST ME, and GOOD FAITH have awakened the American evangelicals and others to some of the issues and crisis points we have been and are facing in the faith journey of emerging adults.

Their latest book entitled FAITH FOR EXILES released this past week and hones in on the 5 practices of young disciples of Jesus who thrive and resiliently live out their faith in what the authors refer to as "Digital Babylon" where they now find themselves. This list and the explanations and examples given for each of the 5 practices comes from Barna's research on this group that is in many ways caught between cultures.  Here is the list of the 5 PRACTICES as they counter the influence and impact of the digital culture and world we now live in:

1. To form a resilient identity, experience INTIMACY WITH JESUS
2. In a complex and anxious age, develop the muscles of CULTURAL DISCERNEMENT
3. When isolation and mistrust are the norms, forge meaningful INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
4. To ground and motivate an ambitious generation, train for VOCATIONAL DISCIPLESHIP
5. Curb entitlement and self-centered tendencies by engaging in COUNTERCULTURAL MISSION

I see these 5 traits as powerful ideas and targets that can and will enable faithfulness to Scripture and the capacity to flourish and be salt and light in the culture and communities students are part of in this era of digital relationships and communication that has altered so much in their lives and thoughts about the pursuit of faith.

Faith for Exiles is a book that anyone who is a parent, mentor, teacher, coach, pastor, or friend of the next generation should read as they consider their role in inspiring and developing the faith of the future leaders of the church of Jesus Christ.

In the midst of a sea change in the culture and the church in these days, I have incredible HOPE for what God and His people will do in the years and decades to come. My hope comes from walking alongside many of these FAITHFUL in EXILE students as I see them lean into the issues in our world and live out their faith in radical and redemptive ways every day. It's an incredible privilege to not just lead and pour into them, but to learn from and follow them as they chart a new and beautiful way on the faith journey of following Jesus in this day.

Grab a copy and learn and be inspired and challenged and equipped for the role God has for you in encouraging and raising up resilient disciples!


https://faithforexiles.com/

GROWING WITH: A Remarkable Parenting Resource

I've been involved and engaged with the youth ministry and high school and college campus ministry contexts for about the last 30 years. I've walked alongside thousands of students and their parents as they've navigated adolescence, the college years, and the post-education early career years. I've traveled with them to dozens of foreign countries, officiated at many of their weddings, and watched hundreds and hundreds of them perform on fields and in theaters and all kinds of spaces, often sitting besides their moms and dads and siblings. And I currently am a parent of a 20 year old college junior and a 15 year old high school sophomore.

As I head into my 4th decade of professional student ministry work and walk through life as a dad in 2019 there are a couple things that stand out to me as I look at the faith journeys and stories of this generation of students:

*Growing as a follower of Jesus and living out one's faith is pretty challenging for our next generation in a culture that throws at them non-stop technology, endless information, a sea of video, and a seeming growing indifference to formal faith practices and participation in the local church.

*Parents are more connected than ever before to their kids and young adults. They know more about them, are more deeply part of their everyday worlds, and communicate with them almost non-stop in comparison to any other previous group of parents.

I've read and reviewed and highlighted hundreds of books concerning the spiritual formation and development of the student generation. Some of them have even dared to address the role of parents in the spiritual growth of their adolescent children. But in this season of more parent and child communication, there is and has been a massive need to help parents engage their kids in new and more thoughtful ways, especially through the 18-28 years that have often been thought as the time when parents disconnect as their kids become fully adults.

Today an incredible book is being released called GROWING WITH from two young adult thought leaders from Fuller Youth Institute. I've been a huge fan of Kara Powell's work for a long time and her material in previous books have often been the basis for presentations I've done to help others working alongside me in the high school and college contexts, and Steve Argue has been a friend and ministry partner for almost two decades. These two professors who come from both a research background and ministry and personal parental experiences have authored a book that I think does a truly exceptional job of helping parents to help their teenagers and young adults thrive rather than be overcome as they make their way through seasons of incredible challenge and change in their lives.

They focus on several key topics in the text that engages the 3 distinct times of life growth and parental roles in this critical dozen years:

*LEARNERS (13-18)--Teacher Role
*EXPLORERS (18-23)--Guide Role
*FOCUSERS (23-29)--Resourcer Role

--How Our Kids' Life and Faith Paths Are Different Than Our Paths
--WITHING: a family's growth in supporting each other as children grow more independent
--Repairing & Reorienting Our Relationships as Parents With our Growing Children
--FAITHING: helping a child's growth in owning and embodying their own journeys with God as they encounter new experiences and information.
--Searching for the Communities That Support our Faith Journeys
--ADULTING: encouraging a child's growth in agency as they embrace opportunities to shape the world around them
--Navigating the World of Friends, Love, and the Search for Connection
--Shaping the World Through our Service and Career

Growing With is the best resource I've run across in helping to CLOSE the FAMILY GAP in the midst of our fears and feelings that are so strong when it seems like we are quickly growing apart...

I can't wait to share some of the principles and ideas and examples with the Student Development and Athletics staff teams at Cornerstone University where I serve, the parents who share their kids with us for the college years, and my peers who are walking the parenting journey as well.

More than anything I love the word, the title WITH...and the invitation to GROW with our teenagers and young adults as together we pursue Jesus and His Way for both of us!

If you are a parent, a youth worker, an educator, or a church leader, you really can't not grab a copy of Growing With as you lean into the work and joy of discipleship and spiritual formation with the incredible next generation we love and care about SO very much...

Here's a couple links to find out more and to order a copy today:

https://growingwithbook.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Parents-Helping-Teenagers-Adults/dp/0801019265

And check out a few quotes from the book below...

 

Celebrating the Life of My Dear Friend and Ministry Partner…LAWRENCE TEMFWE

I’ve always considered the remarkable variety and quality of people God has brought into my life as one of His grandest blessings. I am thankful for high school and college friends that I’m still regularly connected to after over 30 years of relationship. There are so many colleagues I’ve worked with who have been way more than just fellow workers next to me in the office or classroom. The athletic world has been full of coaches and staff members and even reporters who I’ve loved competing with and against and creating memories with on and off the fields and courts. Church pastors and para-church leaders have been remarkable encouragers in my faith journey and empowered me to care about the things that Jesus cared about. 

I’ve been blessed and in the midst of hundreds of influential and important people in my life the LORD has anointed and brought some friends who have been unique in the way that they have left a mark in my life. This past Friday my dear friend and brother Lawrence Temfwe went to be with Jesus on the other side of the world. Lawrence’s friendship has been a gift I have thanked God for hundreds of times publicly and privately over the last decade of serving together in the beautiful nation of Zambia.

About 20 years ago I was finishing up my master’s degree at the Wheaton College Graduate School. And at the same time was a Zambian leader with his young family being trained to go back to follow God’s leading to start a holistic ministry serving and empowering hundreds of Zambian churches in sharing the Good News in word and deed to people and communities in his home country. Lawrence and I would sometimes chuckle about how we had to have been in some of the same places in Wheaton and yet never met each other. And there’s definitely a part of me that wishes I would have come across his path to enjoy another decade of friendship and partnership…

Along with a crew of Wheaton Academy students I started taking trips and helping to partner in community development work in Zambia after being pushed by BONO to respond to the HIV pandemic and being connected to a village where World Vision was starting to holistically address spiritual and physical needs. I fell in love with the Zambian culture, people, and church and community and ministry leaders I met. And God began to change me and deepen and expand my faith through the witness and work of the African people…

Almost a decade ago now I was introduced to Lawrence and Martha Temfwe over a lunch here in west MI. I was at a place where I was wondering what next steps in continuing and deepening my investment in global work and was pumped to meet a potential new ministry partner in my “second home” on the other side of the world. Immediately I found myself drawn to his passion and vision. I enjoyed a natural connection with him on a human level as I found him to be a winsome and thoughtful person to talk and share stories with. I had no idea that he was already connected to several influential US churches, and he didn’t seem to care that my little Christian university didn’t have the academic pedigree or endowment resources that a school like Wheaton had to offer.

We left the conversation with hopes for a future partnership and I began taking students from Cornerstone on yearly trips to Ndola for life-changing weeks in Zambia. And I was given the gift of a growing and surprising friendship that I found to be a wonderful addition to my relational network. Students would always ask me why I wanted to keep taking these long trips to sub-Saharan Africa and I would talk about the cultural learning and experiences, ministry and service projects, and seeing the needs and life in a place unlike their own world. But I would personally always simply say that I loved going back because I got to see my friends. And for me that meant being with my friend Lawrence.

I loved when he would join me on the soccer pitch as the elder statesman with all the young players running circles around us even as we kept telling them to pass us the ball. I always looked forward to the car rides to and from ministry sites where he would grab me and just the two of us would get a chance to talk openly and freely away from the loud bus full of students and staff members. Almost every drive he would call me to deeper faith and greater Kingdom risk as he shared with me where he believed God wanted to use me in the days ahead in his ministry and the larger world. I have vivid memories of the dinners at the favorite Indian restaurant where our laughter and voices would get to a decibel level that was noticed by everyone else eating that night. And I never grew tired of early morning times of worship at the Jubilee Centre office where His sharing of the Scriptures and leading us pastorally in worship and prayer gave rest and life to my soul that was often weary coming to Zambia.

This picture is one of my favorites I have of Lawrence. I think of 4 things that I saw in him that I see in this particular photograph at a bed net distribution to help protect orphans being cared for in their local community from the deadly threat of malaria…

1. JOY—He radiated and extended the joy of the Lord to those around him. His spirit lifted your spirit through the joy that spilled from his heart into the world. And I never escaped dancing when I was with him as we celebrated what God was up to and who He was.

2. DO SOMETHING—He always pushed people to move from a place of just knowledge or privilege to put their faith into practice that would produce fruit of lasting impact. If you see a problem like malaria in a community, you had to get the life-saving nets to people who were in danger. He modeled for me a life where he truly “spurred one another on to good deeds.”

3. PEOPLE MATTER—Not every influential leader would take the time to make a little girl feel special like Lawrence did in this moment. There are literally hundreds of students in my ministry who felt known and personally encouraged and challenged by Lawrence. And my family was so well loved and cared for and prayed for by the Temfwe family in ways we often didn’t feel even in our own community.

4. INSIDE THE NET—Lawrence was right in the midst of the challenges and opportunities he encountered. His gifts and capacities could have allowed him to stay safe on the outside but he always jumped “inside the net” and was present where courage and truth and love were most needed. His commitment to local churches and community based holistic ministry was real and authentic and personal. And that made all the difference for those God called him to serve.

Today I grieve the loss of and simultaneously celebrate what Jesus has invited us into and what was given to me as a brother found in John 15. Lawrence allowed me to move from being a financial supporter and a ministry partner to being a true friend. His legacy in Zambia and the world is wide and deep in its scope and eternal impact. And my heart is more aligned with God’s heart and my hands now do more of the work God longs for me to do because of my friendship with Lawrence Temfwe.

I do and will miss my friend so very much. And I am longing already to be reunited with him in the presence of Jesus someday.   

PHILIPPIANS 1:3-8: I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

-->

MOSQUITOES: My 2018 Night of Nets Reflection

Last week, seemingly out of nowhere, swarms of mosquitoes descended upon Grand Rapids. I spent several late afternoons and evenings squirming and squatting while watching soccer matches and trying to cut my lawn. The large and unusual number of mosquitoes was a constant topic of conversation with fellow parents, students, and even random strangers around our community. For me, the timing was a bit ironic as I have been getting ready for our annual Night of Nets matches during the fall athletic seasons at Cornerstone.  As an unusual infestation of biting insects made us itch and slap our arms and run inside as dusk approached I couldn't help but think about my friends in Zambia who will soon be seeking to escape the bite of a mosquito for reasons far greater than an irritating itch or humming noise.

As the rainy season approaches in sub-Saharan Africa MALARIA season will come with the rain so desperately needed. The insects that come out at night bring sickness and death and fear to families and communities and nations even in 2018. I saw many people grabbing bug spray in cans and packets to try and escape the bites of mosquitoes. And I couldn't help but think of the bed nets that offer the chance to escape the dread and illness and missing school days and loss of income and the unexpected end of lives from the deadly bite of a parasite carrying bug on the other side of the world.

I know dear friends and even members of our Cornerstone men's soccer team whose own lives have been altered by this creature that has suddenly appeared in our community. They've helped me to understand what life is outside my little piece of this world and have made my life richer and deeper and more compelling because of our friendship and their expression of what it means to love God and love others. And I find myself now longing for a day soon where they will no longer worry or be concerned about what MALARIA will do to their current and future lives.

SO in a strange way this unexpected flock of GR Mosquitoes has been a helpful and motivating reminder to me about why I love and am as passionate as ever about the NIGHT OF NETS initiative we will be celebrating and participating in for an eighth straight year at CORNERSTONE U this weekend. Simply put, there are things happening in our world that need our attention...things that can be changed...things that shouldn't be if we come together to respond as the CHURCH...

Tonight and tomorrow we will play the BEAUTIFUL GAME that we both love...and that has always been and will always be a connection filled with joy and love between our community here and the people in Zambia...it is a day filled with hope and belief for me that God can and has and will do surprising things in our global community to mutually transform and redeem and restore lives now and for eternity...

And I am quite sure many in the crowd wearing a Night of Nets shirt will be swatting at a bothersome mosquito...and I will smile to myself as I ponder that children in homes in a beautiful nation thousands of miles away won't be worrying about mosquitoes as they fall asleep because of the shirts they are wearing and the power of sport to save lives through a bed net...

TILL MALARIA IS GONE...Chip

www.nightofnets.org

50 Things I'm Grateful for After a Half Century of Life

As I turn 50, the overwhelming emotion I feel is GRATITUDE...and I just began to write the first 50 people and places and experiences and things that have caused me to thank and bless and rejoice after a half century of life with my Lord...here's my list:

50 Things I’m Grateful for After a Half Century of Life

1. Ingrid—my best friend and the one who most believes in me and calls me to be my best…cannot imagine life without her beside me on our journey together…

2. Olivia—my daughter with a similar passion to engage the issues and needs of the world in new and purposeful ways…she’s definitely one of my favorite and most thoughtful people to talk with about almost anything…

3. Trey—my son who is my sports loving companion as we attend and watch athletic contests all over the world…love doing so much together and watching him already choose to live intentionally and purposefully as a student…

4. Scriptures—The foundation of faith and the vision for how to live the best life…truly been the bedrock of life and an incredible source of vision for how to live through the incredible narrative and wisdom of God-breathed words…

5. Books—I love learning and the power of words…and never get tired of reading stories and great ideas and insights…

6. ESPN—pure bliss for a young sports nut…and I still love tuning in daily as a not so young anymore sports guy...

7. WA Teachers & Staff—the team of folks who I grew up with professionally and built life-long friendships with as we built a dynamic school culture and leaned deeply into the living curriculum life…

8. CU Younger Staff Members—challenged me, gave me people to invest deeply into, and loved chasing vision and serving this generation of students alongside them…

9. CU Men’s Soccer Program, Coaches, Players—people who accepted me first at CU and it’s been a joy to watch them play, travel overseas together, and help tens of thousands of families receive a life-saving bed net…

10. WA Boys Soccer Teams, Players & Coaches—so many memorable victories, tons of great players, global impact, the staff that laughed the most...what sports could and should be in many ways from my perspective…

11. World Vision US & Zambia Staff—cheered me on to pursue Kingdom work…and created beautiful relationships and transformational development work

12. Temfwe Family—our like-minded friends doing remarkable ministry empowering churches in Zambia who make it our second home in this world…and have filled my life with laughter and dance and beautiful African faith…

13. Jubilee Centre—bringing life and hope and a future through the power of Jesus’ name in Africa as a model of ministry and holistic mission has made for a ministry partnership I could have only hoped for…

14. Zambia—the landscapes, the people, the culture, the Kingdom work that draws me back over and over again to a place that is hard to get to but so worth the long flights…truly has become a second home across the world…

15. Noah’s Ark Staff—so many young leaders and lifetime friends who have taught me and blessed me through mountain and river adventures time and time again…

16. Colorado—my place to reconnect with my Creator, contemplate life direction and decisions, and enjoy immense beauty, incredible weather, amazing people, and life away from the flatlands in this life…

17. Golf—a game I love playing outdoors with people I love…and it’s new and challenging every day…playing with Trey and my dad and so many friends has made the golf course I place of great memories and conversations…

18. The Beautiful Game—the world loves FUTBAL and so do I…it’s been a joy to play and watch and been THE connector to so many people and places all over the planet

19. MLB & NBA Games in Person—love watching the best athletes compete in the games I love and often have had meaningful conversations with people next to me…

20. CU Athletics Contests—love seeing our community and our family watch the student athletes we know and love represent our school with joy and grace and excellence

21. Mom & Dad—my greatest cheerleaders who provided everything I needed to thrive in life…and who continues to be a source of wisdom and unshakeable belief as I age…

22. Mindi & Rand—siblings who I love being with and who have always supported me in every area of my life…and been great friends with whom I’ve shared many experiences together over the whole span of our lives…

23. Ingrid’s Family Members—joining a family with deep biblical values and one that cares so deeply for our family…and provides the best vacations in MN & FL…

24. Grace Church Students & Families--the people who helped me discover my love for students, teaching, and the local church in a phenomenal relational ministry context

25. BETHEL UNIVERSITY—a place that shaped me for the rest of my life…an incredible Christian higher education community and experience that truly was one of the very best and most impactful seasons of my life…

26. College Teammates & Friends—the most incredible group of people I could have ever hoped for on a soccer team that would become my support team for a lifetime…

27. Global Leadership Summit—decades of leadership truths and ideas that have propelled me forward to the pursuit of a truly grander vision and a life of authentic leadership…

28. Student Leadership Trips—watching and empowering the next generation of people via experiential learning and incredible curriculum who will do far more than our generation to make the world bring forth beauty and good…

29. Project LEAD Members—where I learned the power of students to change the world…and the power of a team of folks that loved one another and chased a common goal bigger than themselves…

30. Twin Cities, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Detroit—places that became HOME…and are filled with memories that make me smile every day…and every time I return…

31. Podcasts—learning and laughing on daily walks and runs and travel that draws me away from the pressure and stresses of the immediate and urgent that threatens to rule my thoughts and emotions…

32. SCS Friends & Teachers & Experiences—an incredible place to go to HS filled with so much good…relationships that fill me and impact me over 3 decades later…

33. Cross-Cultural Trips & Experiences—my life and faith are so much richer for time spent away from the suburbs and our American way of life…

34. CU Students—they give me energy and life as they seek to know Jesus and discover His vision for their lives all ahead of them…and I simply have loved all the conversations and experiences with them as students and then alums over the last decade…

35. Internet—I’ve loved the access to incredible information and the opportunity to be connected to friends and connections all over the world is such a huge gift…

36. Writing—being able to put ideas and thoughts and reflections down on paper is something cathartic and enjoyable for me…finishing the ZAMBIA PROJECT was one of the joys of my life and I’m grateful for the words that have come from my heart and experiences and life…

37. The Church—the body of Christ truly is the hope of the world…and has been a place to use my gifts, grow deep in my faith, be consumed with authentic worship, train a future generation of leaders, and serve to bring the Kingdom in all of its fullness…

38. University of Michigan Athletics—must see TV and the most special games to attend involve my beloved Wolverines on the football gridiron and the basketball court…

39. Health—I’ve seen the impact of global pandemics and daily thank my Creator for the chance to be healthy, to walk and run, and have health care accessible…and for the chance to seek to care for the body God made…

40. Grace—the undeserved blessings and mercy of God has provided a life and people and future that I feel is truly more than I could expect or ask for…and

41. Global Community of Believers—my faith is broader & deeper & reflects more of Jesus as I have served & worshipped & mentored & discipled & exhorted & prayed for by believers & leaders in many nations & communities…

42. Tony, Cory, Ryan, Ben—a few of the kind of friends who I never get tired of catching up with…and I am way beyond the curve in terms of being a male who has the kind of friends and conversations that fill my soul and allow me to be known and know them at authentic and deep levels…

43. Small Group Studies—so often the things I’ve studied and discovered and talked about with trusted friends and fellow followers of Jesus have reshaped the way I see the world, how I engage the Scriptures, and the way I live…

44. Fall in the Midwest—nothing better than the weather as the leaves change color and the energy of school and campus events explodes…and so many amazing sports events to watch and attend and coach fill up the calendar…

45. Our Sponsored Kids in Zambia—getting to know them, meet them, pray for and with them, and to watch a small investment bring new life and opportunity to their futures and families has given us great joy as we see them grow and change and dream over so many years thru letters and visits and the connection God has made for both of us…

46. Christian High Schools & Colleges—to be part of shaping student lives and minds and hearts in passionate and vibrant Christian communities has been nothing less than one of the best vocations and callings to pursue anywhere…

47. Zambia Project—The mobilization of students to focus on the OTHER in the midst of their suburban American world altered my life and faith and vision in ways that will never leave me and thousands of others…and the connection between WA and KAKOLO VILLAGE was a preview of the global community we will experience in heaven one day…

 

48. The Joy of the Lord—my positivity and my excitement for life and the energy to passionately pursue vision comes from the Holy Spirit and the surprising and remarkable joy found in the God who is the source of real joy that springs from the heart of God outside of circumstances…

49. Night of Nets—harnessing the power of sport and the passion of this generation of students to provide tens of thousands of life-saving bed nets to help end malaria in Africa has been an incredible movement of God and helped transform athletics into something bigger and better…

50. SO, SO MUCH in these remarkable blessings:

Financial Resources & Business Opportunities, Education, Health Care, Bed Nets, Clean Water, Food Security, Housing, Transportation, Churches, Soccer Balls & Pitches, Bibles, Clothing, The Power of Community & Story

PHILIPPIANS 1:3-11

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. I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

-->

Thoughts on Athletics & Men from a College Athletic Director...

-->Here are the words I shared as I spoke in chapel this week...

As the athletic director at CU and as a male leader on our campus I feel compelled to say something today as we engage our culture:

Athletics

We need different kinds of athletes and a different culture in our sports world.  Way too often athletics in our culture leads to a sense of entitlement and arrogance that produces behaviors resulting in intimidation, abuse, rape and sexual assault, and significant injustices toward others, often including women. Sports is a powerful cultural icon, and is a massive force for either good or evil based on how character is developed and how athletes are taught and led and held accountable. It can be used to provide tens of thousands of desperately needed life-saving bed nets while equipping its participants for a lifetime of others centered leadership and service. And it can create cultures where unspeakable acts of violence and personal life devastation can be acceptable and encouraged. Winning does not ever make all things acceptable and the Gospel calls us to play and compete and grow in ways that produce the fruit of true righteousness in those who watch, those who play, those who coach, those who administrate, and our very sports-crazed world...

Men

We need different and we need better men. We don’t need men who are just workout warriors in the weight room or geniuses beating the stock market or remarkable video game savants. We need men who view and treat women as our God who created them in His image sees them. Men who believe the women connected to them and who work alongside them have incredible gifts and tremendous leadership capacities that must be valued and leveraged and released and sought out. We need a generation of men who stand up and both grieve and support #metoo and gladly add their voice and behaviors in demonstrations against sexual harassment and assault while modeling lives of purity and authentic biblical love for and toward all women in our lives. It’s the right thing to do and we must do it with great humility and sorrow at the ways so many in both our culture and our churches have failed to do so. This is a moment for us to help create a different, a better future for women and girls in our lives and our world as men who know Jesus and seek justice and hope for all today...

20 TIPS FOR A POSITIVE NEW YEAR--Jon Gordon

Loved this list from an author that has constantly been a source of wisdom and positivity and team building for me personally and the teams we are building and growing as leaders...excited to pursue even greater positivity and impact in 2018!

1. Stay Positive. You can listen to the cynics and doubters and believe that success is impossible or you can trust that with faith and an optimistic attitude all things are possible.

2. Take a daily "Thank You Walk." You can’t be stressed and thankful at the same time. Feel blessed and you won’t be stressed.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and less foods manufactured in plants.

4. Talk to yourself instead of listen to yourself. Instead of listening to your complaints, fears and doubts, talk to yourself with words of truth and encouragement.

5. Post a sign that says "No Energy Vampires Allowed." Gandhi said, "I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet."

6. Be a Positive Team Member. Being positive doesn’t just make you better, it makes everyone around you better.

7. Don't chase success. Decide to make a difference and success will find you.

8. Get more sleep. You can't replace sleep with a double latte.

9. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control.

10. Look for opportunities to Love, Serve and Care. You don’t have to be great to serve but you have to serve to be great.

11. Live your purpose. Remember why you do what you do. We don't get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forget why we do it.

12. Remember, there's no such thing as an overnight success. Love the process and you’ll love what the process produces.

13. Trust that everything happens for a reason and expect good things to come out of challenging experiences.

14. Implement the No Complaining Rule. If you are complaining, you're not leading.

15. Read more books than you did in 2017. I happen to know of a few good ones. : )

16. Don't seek happiness. Instead live with love, passion and purpose and happiness will find you.

17. Focus on "Get to" vs "Have to." Each day focus on what you get to do, not what you have to do. Life is a gift not an obligation.

18. The next time you "fail" remember that it’s not meant to define you. It’s meant to refine you.

19. Smile and laugh more. They are natural anti-depressants.

20. Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy it.

http://www.jongordon.com/positivetip/documents/2018_PositiveTips.pdf