Archives For september

THE McPHEE EFFECT

September 27, 2019 — 2 Comments

Years ago, our family stumbled across a couple of movies on TV, called Nanny McPhee. My family will tell you – once I find a movie I like, I will watch it every time it comes on, regardless of who is with me. And now, the Nanny McPhee movies fall into this category.

A brief background on the movies: Nanny McPhee is based on the book series Nurse Matilda written by the British children’s author Christianna Brand. Nanny McPhee is a Mary Poppins-type character who is called upon to help a family in need. There is a deeper lesson on unity, and a focus on helping the children learn and grow. She has a motto for the way she works; “When you need me but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me but no longer need me, then I have to go.” I love these statements and they really hit home for me on many levels, especially with my relationship with Jesus.

There are two points made in the statement and I want to look at the first one first: When you need me but do not want me, then I must stay. When I think about my faith, and the times in my life I find myself needing God but wanting to fix everything myself (which honestly is always), God actually does not fight against that. Many times, He actually waits me out. Think about the times where we really need guidance, wisdom, provision or protection… in those times, we search out hundreds of ways to deal with on our own, thinking that we can fix it. It’s really cool that God stays – He does not abandon us as we attempt to go about it without Him. He realizes we need Him, and His hope is that we give up the fight and turn to Him for wisdom and guidance.

The second statement, though on the surface seems contradictory to the first, is an intriguing statement as well; When you want me but no longer need me, then I have to go. This statement has everything to do with God giving us the room to grow and learn. James writes about this in James 1:3-4:

“Because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Let perseverance finish its work so can be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

I don’t believe for a second God ever departs us, but I do believe He leaves us alone to grow and mature in many circumstances. For me, I realize the trails and tests I have been through have helped me mature and grow. I’ve been tempted to wait on God to “fix” it all, instead of letting perseverance run its course. When He gets me upright, I have to begin to walk, moving forward toward purpose.

My prayer time begins to reflect less a person who is always in need, to a person who takes on the strength and gifts of Christ. A person who moves forward to deal with issues and praises Him in the process.

“Find it pure joy my brother and sisters when you face trails of many kinds.” (James 1:2)

It’s not that we don’t need God, but there is a time when our need to praise Him and find joy in where we are needs to outweigh our desire for Him to fix everything.

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7 STEPS TO GREATER AWARENESS

September 17, 2019 — 1 Comment

Steven Covey has been quoted as saying, “Self-Awareness involves deep personal honesty. It comes from asking and answering hard questions.” I have dedicated September as the month for our journey through the importance of integrity in our leadership. In Fellowship of Christian Athletes, integrity serves as one of our main pillars toward seeing our vision – to see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes – successfully implemented. This week I will expand on the importance of awareness in being a leader of integrity.

I can remember the first time I drove a car. There is something about driving for the first time that you become keenly aware of things one never observes as a passenger. I was now aware of names of streets, other cars, buildings, landscapes and people. They had always been there but now my view had changed. This is what self-awareness is… changing the view. How do we change our view in order to become more aware? Emotions, personality and reactions all play a major role in our awareness.

  1. Know your why. When we are confident in why we are where we are, or why we are doing something, it brings loads of clarity to our life. Simon Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” People of the highest integrity know why they do things and lead from this position of strength.
  2. Ask hard questions. A lot of our awareness is built around asking hard questions of ourselves and others. Hard questions force us to think harder and deeper about who we are and what we truly believe. You might ask yourself the following: What is my ideal definition of success? Do I carefully consider other people’s suggestions before I dismiss them?
  3. Answer hard questions. Asking hard questions may be difficult for you, but answering them can prove to be even more difficult. I think it’s best to run answers through a few filters, such as your values, or how others might answer the same question about you. Journaling is always recommended – getting your answers down on paper helps you to process them more effectively.
  4. Notice warning signs. Being aware of the warning signs in regard to your emotions and how you react to situations can help head off any major issues. Does doing certain activities cause you to be angry or stressed? Be aware of the button-pushers in your life and leadership. What is your emotional kryptonite?
  5. Make adjustments. Great awareness allows for a greater ability to make adjustments. Being aware of the traffic around us allows us to adjust when needed. People of high integrity are not people who “dig in their heels,” they are people are aware of adjustments that may need to be made.
  6. Listen better… especially to feedback. Many have argued that feedback is the most important skill a leader need. When someone gives feedback to us, it is a great opportunity to build awareness. Hearing other perspectives helps us grow. Winston Churchill said, “Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.”
  7. Be a planner. Writing out your goals, plans and priorities helps develop a keen sense of awareness. Step one is to write down what you want to do, and the second step is to develop a way to track the progress. This will bring clarity awareness around the things that really matter.

Paying closer attention to skills, emotional patterns, deeper feelings and our behaviors allow us to live lives of deeper integrity. This awareness will become the foundation of personal growth, success and sustainability over our lifetime.

Lead Differently!

Greg

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AWE

September 12, 2019 — 1 Comment

The other day I was spending time with Steve, someone who has become a great friend over the last few years. Steve and I often get into conversations about theology, and primarily discipleship. During our conversation, he mentioned a book he was reading entitled, Awe: Why it Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do by Paul David Tripp.

As Steve and I continued to talk, we briefly talked through the impact of the word awe in our Christian faith and life. Awe is defined as: a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear and wonder. After leaving Steve’s office I began to think about how awe is so much a part of my life and how much power true awe can have. I am in constant awe of God, finding it hard to grasp what He has created and how He created me to operate with purpose within His creation. Think about this for a second – God created the world and all that we are able to see, touch and enjoy, and within this creation He created you and me. Not only does He want us to enjoy this spectacular world but wants us to play a part in the opportunity to help transform all who live in it with us. To you and me, with all of our pain, mistakes and brokenness, God Himself says, “Let’s go change the world together!” In my opinion that is awe inspiring! When my awe, ultimately lies in the love of God, it does three things to me:

  1. Awe Moves Me Toward Awareness. It’s the things I am in awe/fear of that I become most aware of. I can remember when I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time, it was truly awe inspiring. I sat there, for what seemed like hours, amazed at what I was looking at and having a hard time coming to terms with it. It’s these types of moments that unfold in front of us where every part of us is affected – our emotions, our minds, our bodies – and the impact is etched into our memories forever. This is God’s desire for us with Him, to be in such awe of Him that his love and presence in our life affects every piece of who we are, how we feel, how we think and how we act.
  2. Awe Moves Me Toward Accountability. Just as being in awe of God affects how we feel, think and act, it can also connect us to that forever. For me it is the awe of God that connects me to Him. Awe always happens when our thoughts and emotions intersect with something. It’s at that intersection where we become connected to it. Ultimately my desire is be connected to God, because when I intersect with God, I am never surprised by what God does. My awe is found in the faith and expectation of God’s greatness. I stumble most when I am in awe of my own created fears or consumed by the untold future of my story – the story I attempt to write about how I’m not good enough, I’m not smart enough, or whatever chapter I begin to write. This is the worst level of accountability…accountable to a fear-based story that causes me to miss the awe-inspiring love of God.
  3. Awe Moves Me Toward Action. D.L Moody said, “I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God’s law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts.” Emptiness inspires awe. Awe of God turns the focus from us toward asking this question, “what do people need from me?” In Acts, “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles” (Acts 2:43). Awe moved everyone toward action, it restored faith, confirmed strengths and changed lives. Awe has the ability to do just that.

True awe brings about indescribable moments. Louie Giglio writes and speaks about the indescribable moments in our relationship with God. That is what awe is – those moments so big in our life that we cannot describe them, we only know they move us toward action and change.

Ponder these:

  1. When was the last time you were in awe of something? How did you feel?
  2. Take time to write out the indescribable things God has done for you that move you toward awe.

Lead Differently!

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