OK, I’ll agree with my spell-check and dictionary.com that “visioneering” is not a word. Marketing and business books use it regardless of this fact. When these books bring up the topic, they try to convey a combination of pioneering with vision; some hopeful anticipation of the future that takes one into uncharted territory. The most successful innovators, it seems, are those who can see potential previously undiscovered or unappreciated and chase that down like no predecessor ever did.
I would like to suggest that, when it comes to prayer for others, we should be doing the same thing. Often prayers rightly deal with present concerns and pressing occasions for praise, but it’s something else altogether when we pray and love someone with hope. Something quite subtle can happen when we reach this point of asking God to do something: we make modest requests. We don’t mean to insult God or be unloving to the person, it’s just that, sometimes, we forget Who we’re talking to and what He’s capable of doing in this person’s life. If our view for God’s grandeur is fuzzy or absent, we forget to come to Him with hope He brings and end up just asking for what might naturally happen anyway. We lose a vision of God and, thus, lose our vision for anyone else.
When it comes to prayer, what we can see provides the occasion for us to approach what we can’t. So, even though it seems unlikely that our relative whom we’ve always known to be angry would ever have a gentle spirit or that AIDS in Africa will ever be curbed, we still approach Our Father with eyes gleaming with hope, unperturbed by whether or not our requests seem likely. Prayer starts by looking downward (on what is before us), but must look forward and upward to be Christian prayer. Prayer is not about the hope which is found in what is seen, but in what heaven could move the present to become.
A quote from CS Lewis’ most famous talk (“The Weight of Glory”) bears repeating:
It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor. . . . It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you say it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. . . . Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.
Visionaries see what others overlook or undervalue and confidently advance to make their hopes embodied. Go and pray likewise.
Assignment: Go and pray likewise.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
27 February: That's what he said
One of the elders at church opened up our corporate time of prayer with a quick homily on the subject. 'Prayer isn't something which comes naturally. It's something we have to learn. That is why the disciples asked Jesus to teach them.' One of the ways he recommended is to join into a practice which predates the New Testament: praying the words of Scripture. One of my professors will occasionally employ this sort of prayer in class and it is great and refreshing to hear. One of the simplest ways is to use the prayers in the Bible and go from there; this is what we're going to do this morning.
First, pick out two people you would like to pray for.
Second, flip to Colossians (GEPC. If you don't get that, don't worry about it). Colossians, like many of Paul's letters, contains a disclosure of his prayer life. In 1:9-12, Paul shares what he prays for the church in Colossae and we are going to use this to pray for the people we have picked.
It's quite simple: whenever you see Paul use a pronoun to refer to the Colossians, substitute your person's name in there. For example, let's say you are praying for someone named Art and using Paul's prayer in Colossians 1. When he writes, "We have not ceased to pray for YOU, asking that YOU may be filled with the knowledge of his will," you can pray, "God, I pray for Art, asking that he may be filled with the knowledge of your will..."
Paul has other good prayers, in Ephesians, for example. This morning, follow Paul's lead and pray for people you know. Paul has some great requests, the kind of things these people will be blessed to have prayed for them.
First, pick out two people you would like to pray for.
Second, flip to Colossians (GEPC. If you don't get that, don't worry about it). Colossians, like many of Paul's letters, contains a disclosure of his prayer life. In 1:9-12, Paul shares what he prays for the church in Colossae and we are going to use this to pray for the people we have picked.
It's quite simple: whenever you see Paul use a pronoun to refer to the Colossians, substitute your person's name in there. For example, let's say you are praying for someone named Art and using Paul's prayer in Colossians 1. When he writes, "We have not ceased to pray for YOU, asking that YOU may be filled with the knowledge of his will," you can pray, "God, I pray for Art, asking that he may be filled with the knowledge of your will..."
Paul has other good prayers, in Ephesians, for example. This morning, follow Paul's lead and pray for people you know. Paul has some great requests, the kind of things these people will be blessed to have prayed for them.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
12 February: From All Sides
I learned about two incredible things over the last week and I suggest you invest yourself fully into both of them. First, I just discovered that England’s parliamentary system has a constitutional convention called Prime Minister’s Questions (cleverly shorthanded as PMQ). You should catch one (or both) of the weekly airings on C-SPAN (http://www.c-span.org/Series/Prime-Minister-Questions.aspx). Here’s why: Prime Minister Gordon Brown. For half an hour every week, Brown fields questions from any member of the House of Commons on whatever issue they choose and it can get intense.
Reasons to watch it: British wit, the charming formality, and the PM’s savvy at responding to each inquiry. The PMQ allows for Members of Parliament to bring the concerns of their constituents to the Prime Minister and directly question him on governmental practices. At one moment, Brown may take a question on inheritance tax and the next might be called upon to defend the equipping (or lack thereof) of deployed troops. Each time a question is through, Brown leaps up in response with a historical precedent, a recent survey, or a quote from opposing party members (all while members in the room cheer key points or ‘bah’ the poor ones). Watching those 30 minutes is as enjoyable as professional sports or a great movie and, while Brown may not satisfy all inquiries, his poise, intelligent responses, speed, and winsomeness leave little doubt as to who the Prime Minister is.
The second thing I learned concerns the historical precedent for Paul’s picture of the “belt of truth” in Eph. 6:14. Probably like you, I learned that ‘truth’ is what holds the sword’s scabbard and is essential to keeping the armor together. What I did not know is that a Roman soldier would use this belt to tuck in his skirt when he went into battle. While this would make him look like he was going to war in full armor and a diaper, it would also pull up the dangling ends to prevent them getting caught on something in the field or in the hands of an enemy. Paul’s exhortation may have been that, as one who is doing war in the King’s ranks, you should not have any part of your life which you’ve not personally secured in truth. This means that anything from your leisure to your view of the inspiration of the Bible should not dangle about, open to dragging or slowing you down.
What impressed me about Gordon Brown’s deftness in the House of Commons is that he never was caught off guard, regardless of the direction from which a question came; the times I’ve watched him, he’s been mastered neither by opponent nor problem. Brown seems that way and, come to think of it, Jesus is that way in the Gospels. He never fell to a question and often silenced his questioners. No loose ends. No vulnerable spots. No unchecked part of life or perspective on life. Just readiness, tact, and graciousness regardless of opponent, irrespective of the problem. One of my favorite things said about William Wallace in Braveheart was that he seemed impossible to trap, as if he had an extra sense capable of detecting ambush. Is there any part of your daily living or outlook on life which could get caught up by a piercing question or unexpected problem? If so, grab hold and tuck it in.
Journaling Questions: Pause and think about what the belt of truth means. In your own words, write out what Paul means by it. Now, what (if any) parts of your life needs tucking in? What is the first step you should take to tuck it in?
Reasons to watch it: British wit, the charming formality, and the PM’s savvy at responding to each inquiry. The PMQ allows for Members of Parliament to bring the concerns of their constituents to the Prime Minister and directly question him on governmental practices. At one moment, Brown may take a question on inheritance tax and the next might be called upon to defend the equipping (or lack thereof) of deployed troops. Each time a question is through, Brown leaps up in response with a historical precedent, a recent survey, or a quote from opposing party members (all while members in the room cheer key points or ‘bah’ the poor ones). Watching those 30 minutes is as enjoyable as professional sports or a great movie and, while Brown may not satisfy all inquiries, his poise, intelligent responses, speed, and winsomeness leave little doubt as to who the Prime Minister is.
The second thing I learned concerns the historical precedent for Paul’s picture of the “belt of truth” in Eph. 6:14. Probably like you, I learned that ‘truth’ is what holds the sword’s scabbard and is essential to keeping the armor together. What I did not know is that a Roman soldier would use this belt to tuck in his skirt when he went into battle. While this would make him look like he was going to war in full armor and a diaper, it would also pull up the dangling ends to prevent them getting caught on something in the field or in the hands of an enemy. Paul’s exhortation may have been that, as one who is doing war in the King’s ranks, you should not have any part of your life which you’ve not personally secured in truth. This means that anything from your leisure to your view of the inspiration of the Bible should not dangle about, open to dragging or slowing you down.
What impressed me about Gordon Brown’s deftness in the House of Commons is that he never was caught off guard, regardless of the direction from which a question came; the times I’ve watched him, he’s been mastered neither by opponent nor problem. Brown seems that way and, come to think of it, Jesus is that way in the Gospels. He never fell to a question and often silenced his questioners. No loose ends. No vulnerable spots. No unchecked part of life or perspective on life. Just readiness, tact, and graciousness regardless of opponent, irrespective of the problem. One of my favorite things said about William Wallace in Braveheart was that he seemed impossible to trap, as if he had an extra sense capable of detecting ambush. Is there any part of your daily living or outlook on life which could get caught up by a piercing question or unexpected problem? If so, grab hold and tuck it in.
Journaling Questions: Pause and think about what the belt of truth means. In your own words, write out what Paul means by it. Now, what (if any) parts of your life needs tucking in? What is the first step you should take to tuck it in?
13 February: Market Research
Last Christmas Eve, I found myself talking with a friendly young man who introduced himself as Spike. Dapper in appearance and enjoyable to talk with, Spike fielded the usual get-to-know-you questions of place of residence (Greenville, SC), schooling (Baylor), and occupation (marketing with Brains on Fire), but you can’t say that you work for a company like Brains on Fire (www.brainsonfire.com) without elaborating a little. Brains on Fire is a marketing firm which implements the tried and true idea of getting to know your customer, but adds a new twist: they begin every marketing strategy by working in their client’s facility for at least two weeks. They want to get to know their clients from the inside out, shoulder to shoulder. Following this, they seek out the sorts of people who give their clients a glance and try to discover what sort of communities they form. In so doing, they hope to track what grabs the customer so as to help form a bond to the company which exceeds mere economics to the level of fanlike loyalty. They sum up their strategy as follows:
The question isn’t “what can we sell this person?” It’s “what can we do to keep this person and make them even happier?” So we hereby present the cycle (i.e., marketing strategy) that takes a customer to fandom. From like to love. From transaction to relationship. From you (i.e., your organization) being just another, to the one.
Now, the previous post looked at Gordon Brown’s ability to field questions concerning Britons in each district of England. One of the fantastic things about his responses is that they were not only factual, but they conveyed a sincere appreciation for the constituent’s interests. Brown got amongst the people (by proxy, for sure) to learn the questions they were asking and to find out how to best package the answers. This isn’t new, though; Paul did the very same thing.
“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. ... To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” (1 Cor. 9:19-23; ESV)
Just like Brains on Fire, he knew that to communicate with people on the outside, he had to get inside their world. So, let me ask you:
- What are the things your non-Christian neighbors are talking about in their leisurely hours?
- What are they worried about?
- When is the last time you did something for them or asked for their expertise on something?
Can you answer any of these questions? If you can, it’s because you’ve gotten to know your neighbors and freed them up to ask questions to get to know you. We should be ready with an answer (like Gordon Brown), but we have to be aware of what concerns them, too.
Brains on Fire gained notoriety because they have go out and among their clients (and clients’ clients) to discover what mattered to them. They have succeeded in helping organizations communicate to potential customers that they were worth joining; but they had to seek out people to know.
I think you get the point.
Journaling: Write out the name of one non-Christian neighbor (in a loose sense of the term) and what he/she cares about. Then write out a prayer for that person.
The question isn’t “what can we sell this person?” It’s “what can we do to keep this person and make them even happier?” So we hereby present the cycle (i.e., marketing strategy) that takes a customer to fandom. From like to love. From transaction to relationship. From you (i.e., your organization) being just another, to the one.
Now, the previous post looked at Gordon Brown’s ability to field questions concerning Britons in each district of England. One of the fantastic things about his responses is that they were not only factual, but they conveyed a sincere appreciation for the constituent’s interests. Brown got amongst the people (by proxy, for sure) to learn the questions they were asking and to find out how to best package the answers. This isn’t new, though; Paul did the very same thing.
“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. ... To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” (1 Cor. 9:19-23; ESV)
Just like Brains on Fire, he knew that to communicate with people on the outside, he had to get inside their world. So, let me ask you:
- What are the things your non-Christian neighbors are talking about in their leisurely hours?
- What are they worried about?
- When is the last time you did something for them or asked for their expertise on something?
Can you answer any of these questions? If you can, it’s because you’ve gotten to know your neighbors and freed them up to ask questions to get to know you. We should be ready with an answer (like Gordon Brown), but we have to be aware of what concerns them, too.
Brains on Fire gained notoriety because they have go out and among their clients (and clients’ clients) to discover what mattered to them. They have succeeded in helping organizations communicate to potential customers that they were worth joining; but they had to seek out people to know.
I think you get the point.
Journaling: Write out the name of one non-Christian neighbor (in a loose sense of the term) and what he/she cares about. Then write out a prayer for that person.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
5 February: Unpraised Hours (i)
If you’ve never seen the basketball movie, The Pistol, I recommend you put it in your queue to watch. It’s the story of basketball superstar, Pete “The Pistol” Maravich, and tracks his childhood and development into the star he would one day become. His father, himself a former professional ball player and his coach, has some great lines in the movie. In a private conversation with Pete, Mr. Maravich paints the picture of putting in hard work, “When you’re in the gym, across town or across the state, your opponent is in his, too. When you take a day off, when you go in early, when you’re not working on your shot, he’s working on his.” The Pistol listened and his rise to excellence came not from some phenomenal talent, ready-made for success, but from cultivation.
Davis reviewed a book last year called Outliers. The latest study by Malcolm Gladwell looks at those individuals who break away from the pack in terms of achievement and performance. One of the key characteristics of some of these individuals was a certain mark, 10,000 hours of practice. These individuals, focused on learning something or becoming someone saw one thing and chased after it. For almost all of us, if we want to grow or improve at anything, repetition is irreplaceable. A Kansas City pastor occasionally reminds his congregation, “We often overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in a decade.” The longer I live life, the more convinced I am in our inability to do too many things, but in the attainability of getting a few things done well. Knowing this, I will occasionally reflect on who I want to be and what I want to see happen through my life.
Pistol Pete died in 1988 of an undetected congenital heart defect at the age of 40. He still holds the NCAA’s all-time scoring record of 3,667 points and averaged 44.2 points a game (in 3 years of play). This was before the league introduced the 3-pt shot. If 3 pointers had been recorded as they are today, he would have averaged 57 points a game. Hundreds of hours of game successes came from tens of thousands of hours of practice. Whenever we see a public display of excellence, what we are also seeing is the fruit of a private discipline.
Who do you want to be?
Prove it.
For Reflection:
1. Write out a few things you would like to be true of you at the end of your life (whenever that comes). Be specific. For instance,
‘holiness’ is a worthy goal, but holiness in what area? Holiness in finances, speech, remembering the poor? What?
2. What would you have to do to improve in these areas?
3. Ask yourself these questions: Now that I’ve answered the above, am I really going to do anything differently? This will help you see who you really want to be in an honest light (i.e., if you don’t want to do the work required to become who you say you want to be, then you don’t really want to be that person). Second question: Now that I see more clearly who I truly want to be, do I want to be that person?
Davis reviewed a book last year called Outliers. The latest study by Malcolm Gladwell looks at those individuals who break away from the pack in terms of achievement and performance. One of the key characteristics of some of these individuals was a certain mark, 10,000 hours of practice. These individuals, focused on learning something or becoming someone saw one thing and chased after it. For almost all of us, if we want to grow or improve at anything, repetition is irreplaceable. A Kansas City pastor occasionally reminds his congregation, “We often overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in a decade.” The longer I live life, the more convinced I am in our inability to do too many things, but in the attainability of getting a few things done well. Knowing this, I will occasionally reflect on who I want to be and what I want to see happen through my life.
Pistol Pete died in 1988 of an undetected congenital heart defect at the age of 40. He still holds the NCAA’s all-time scoring record of 3,667 points and averaged 44.2 points a game (in 3 years of play). This was before the league introduced the 3-pt shot. If 3 pointers had been recorded as they are today, he would have averaged 57 points a game. Hundreds of hours of game successes came from tens of thousands of hours of practice. Whenever we see a public display of excellence, what we are also seeing is the fruit of a private discipline.
Who do you want to be?
Prove it.
For Reflection:
1. Write out a few things you would like to be true of you at the end of your life (whenever that comes). Be specific. For instance,
‘holiness’ is a worthy goal, but holiness in what area? Holiness in finances, speech, remembering the poor? What?
2. What would you have to do to improve in these areas?
3. Ask yourself these questions: Now that I’ve answered the above, am I really going to do anything differently? This will help you see who you really want to be in an honest light (i.e., if you don’t want to do the work required to become who you say you want to be, then you don’t really want to be that person). Second question: Now that I see more clearly who I truly want to be, do I want to be that person?
6 February: Unpraised Hours (ii)
Read Matt. 6:1-24
Before Jesus talks about storing treasures in heaven, he talks about 3 commendable practices (giving to the poor, prayer, and fasting). You’ll probably notice a few elements repeated in each. In your journal: What do you see repeated in His address of these 3 topics?
Often we look at giving, prayer, and fasting as the sorts of things you do without any reward attached. Write out an example of how each of these practices could be done with the wrong motive (not mentioned in the text). What does Jesus communicate about the relationship between the practices and rewards? Why do you think God rewards what He does?
With the above consideration of the connection of between doing certain ‘spiritual’ practices and receiving rewards, how do you think this connects with vv. 19-25?
Yesterday we looked at the value of putting in work which no one sees, hours which no one observes and cannot, therefore, praise. Today we look at a different sort of activity, the sort which is not done for public display, but for God’s private viewing. One last question: What is one way you will enjoy God viewing your life today?
Before Jesus talks about storing treasures in heaven, he talks about 3 commendable practices (giving to the poor, prayer, and fasting). You’ll probably notice a few elements repeated in each. In your journal: What do you see repeated in His address of these 3 topics?
Often we look at giving, prayer, and fasting as the sorts of things you do without any reward attached. Write out an example of how each of these practices could be done with the wrong motive (not mentioned in the text). What does Jesus communicate about the relationship between the practices and rewards? Why do you think God rewards what He does?
With the above consideration of the connection of between doing certain ‘spiritual’ practices and receiving rewards, how do you think this connects with vv. 19-25?
Yesterday we looked at the value of putting in work which no one sees, hours which no one observes and cannot, therefore, praise. Today we look at a different sort of activity, the sort which is not done for public display, but for God’s private viewing. One last question: What is one way you will enjoy God viewing your life today?
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