Is it time for you to quit?

I came across this article in a leadership newsletter I receive. It's written by a pastor for pastors but is applicable to anyone who wants to live a fulfilled life and calling. The article is based on Geri and Pete's book I Quit.

Enjoy.

By Pete Scazzero with Geri Scazzero

The journey into a profound transformation in my pastoral leadership began when my wife, Geri, said, “I quit.” Refusing to continue pretending everything was “fine,” she quit the church –and I was the pastor!

The powerful journey we took together – to “quit” the things that really don’t belong to Jesus’ kingdom and embrace the things that do – changed our personal lives, our marriage and our church.

Quitting goes hand in hand with choosing God’s will and ways. Taking up these “quits” is imperative if we are to raise up healthy, biblical churches that effectively engage the world with the gospel.

Here are the eight things we had to quit in order to truly minister to our congregation:

Quit being afraid of what others think (Choose freedom) -- I am willing to cut through the disapproval of others and do what is good, true and right. I no longer ignore the values I hold dearly out of fear.

Quit lying (Choose truth) -- The degree to which I live in the truth -- with myself, God and others -- is the degree to which I am free. By God’s grace, I will seek to speak the truth respectfully, honestly and clearly.

Quit dying to the wrong things (Choose delighting in God’s gifts) -- I will no longer set aside or devalue activities or relationships that cause my soul to be fully alive (e.g. music, dance, art, the outdoors, travel). I will lead from the joy that flows from the love of Jesus.

Quit denying anger, sadness, and fear (Choose embracing your humanity) -- I will avoid extremes -- neither neglecting my emotions nor allowing them to run my life. I will allow myself to experience them in the presence of God, calmly think them through, and then lead appropriately as the Holy Spirit directs.

Quit blaming (Choose to take responsibility) -- As a human being made in God’s image, I recognize that no one is responsible for my life but me. Unlike Adam (Genesis 3) I refuse to blame others and fall into helplessness. By His grace, I choose to lead.

Quit overfunctioning (Choose letting go) -- I will no longer do for others what they can and should do for themselves. I will push through my fears in the face of resistance, asking God for courage and wisdom. Like Jesus, I will only complete the work the Father has given me to do (John 17:4).

Quit faulty thinking (Choose to live in reality) -- I will refuse to make things bigger than they are. And I will not believe the falsehood that things will never change. I will position myself so that the Holy Spirit, and others, can correct my wrong assumptions and align me with truth (John 8:32).

Quit living someone else’s life (Choose to be yourself) -- By God’s grace I will embrace the unique life He has given me. I will listen to my God-given rhythms and let go of other people’s agenda for my leadership.

The Shoebox Lady

I had the chance to meet Mary Damron aka "The Shoebox Lady" today. Mary is a spokesperson for Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child. She was kind enough to come to our church this morning to challenge, encourage and inspire folks about Operation Christmas Child.

She is one of the most amazing speakers I've ever heard. She grew up in the poorest county in West Virginia. A few years ago she set out on a mission which ended up taking her, as she puts it, "from the White House to the garbage dumps of the world."

I left inspired about what God can do with something as simple and small as a shoebox. I think you will be too. Check out her story in this video.

Mary Damron - "The Shoebox Lady"

Nothing to Say In Reply

There's a great verse tucked away in Acts 4. I turned to it this morning and, although I've read the verse several times, a new insight hit me. Here's the back story to the verse:

The Jesus movement is still pretty new. Peter and John are out preaching and they end up healing a guy who couldn't walk. This upset the establishment (religious leaders), which happens when control freaks lose control.

They throw Peter and John in jail for the night and then the next day begin to interrogate them. They ask them "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?" And so Peter boldly stands up (to them) and tells them that they healed the guy in Jesus' name.

Here's the great verse in this passage. John 4:13-14 "Now as they (religious leaders) observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had NOTHING TO SAY IN REPLY."

Two things stand out to me in that passage. First, Peter and John lived their lives in a way that made people recognized that they had been with Jesus. And second, they lived their lives in such a way that at the end of the day, when they had to give an account, no one could find fault with them - they had nothing to say in reply.

Crazy Friday

Have you ever had one of those days that seemed like you woke up in the Twilight Zone; you just find yourself in experiences that you normally don't have. That was yesterday for me.

It started off with an interview by Comcast SportsNet. Here's the back story.

Every year, before the big Redskins/Cowboys game, our church puts up two big banners up on one of the busiest corners in Northern Virginia. The banners are burgundy and gold (Redskins' colors) and simply say "LOVE THY NEIGHBOR (Even If They're a Cowboys Fan)"

Over the years we've gotten tons of attention from those banners. It's been the conversation of radio talk shows, it's on a local, by fans Redskins trivial page, and we've even had people from the community email us asking if it's going up again this year.

So this year we got a call from a guy at Comcast SportsNet wanting to do a piece on the banner and run it as a part of their pre-game show kickoff this Sunday before the game. I love it when our church, or any church for that matter, gets 15 minutes of fame with the local community. Only good can come from that.

So that was crazy enough. Then, I got a call from the White House. That's right, the White House. It turns out the President is going to be visiting a home on the street behind our church this Monday and they need a lot of parking for the media, Secret Service and staff. So here I am on Friday talking with a White House staffer about using our church's parking lot for the event. It was a low level staffer, I'm sure, but still - crazy.

Who knows, maybe the President will see our banner and want to ask us about it.

So that's my crazy day.

A Gentle Answer

I was reading Proverbs 15:1-4 this morning. Solomon has some pretty strong words about how we speak to people and what we say. I love how he starts..."A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of the fool belches out foolishness."

Image what our lives would be like if we followed Solomon's advice, just in our relationships alone. What if I gave gentle answers to...

...my kids - deflects anger

...my wife when we disagree - deflects anger

...my boss when we don't see eye to eye - deflects anger

...gentle answers to the police officer who stops me for speeding - ok that goes with out saying.

What would happen if the Church, followers of Christ, used the tongue of the wise. Solomon is saying that the way we speak and the attitude we have when we speak either makes people want to listen to what we have to say or it angers them by what we say.

What if Church leaders used the tongue of the wise? How would that affect the way the world sees us. How would it affect our political landscape? How would it change the moral and social debates we're having in this country.

Here's what I think. It's easier to be disagreeable than it is to be gentle. It's easier to "speak the truth in love", which is usually code for being mean and feeling ok about it, than it is to speak with the tongue of the wise.

I think more than anything else, I want to be wise and gentle. It seems like those two things are the combination to many open doors.