2013 - The Year of the Peacemakers

It has been quite a while since I last posted.  Life has gotten faster and busier – something I was not certain was possible.  This year feels as though it was only six months long.

In some ways, that is a good thing, for there are things about this year I could have lived without.  Yet at the same time, there are things about this year that are so precious that I will carry them in my heart forever.

These final hours of 2012 find me in the city of Vijayawada, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.  

The past hours have been a blur, starting with a departure from Savannah on December 28, an arrival in Hyderabad on Sunday at 6:45 a.m. which allowed mw to arrive in time to enjoy the fellowship of believers at two services – one at 9:00 a.m. and another at noon.  Before the day was over, I was aboard a train for the overnight journey to Vijayawada, where in a few moments (as of the time of this writing) I will spend the last hours of this year with friends and Christian family here.

I offer this simply because the last hours of this year seem to represent the pace of the entire year…sort of a tribute to all that has occurred.  It has caused me to consider, what has really occurred this year. One thought that has stood out in my mind is this: “Do not mistake action for accomplishment.” I spent most of today pondering that thought – has my year of action been a year of accomplishment? For family? For ministry?  For me, personally?

I believe it has.

I looked back to things spoken over my life and over the life of our family at Connection Church by Apostle John Kelly at the start of this year. He prophesied that 2012 would be a year in which we would “come into our own” in a different way. In short, we would be like David, as he transitioned from the shepherd to the warrior.

He stated that 2012 produce a paradigm shift – that we would embrace a “new style”, particularly with regard to how we stand and how we fight.  He stated that this would be a year of discovery. It would be a year where we would develop the ability to become rapid change agents. And, while we would be continuing to train, this year would be not about what happens to us, but rather, what we would do. 2012 would also be a year wherein we would become united to be ignited.

In retrospect, this prophecy has proven to be accurate. We have experienced much activity, but that activity has produced results – in our individual lives and in the lives of the community and the world we touch.  We have different footing on different ground. Like David, we have transitioned out of the pasture and into the battlefield. 

In the pasture, there is solace. You have to be watchful because the lions and bears invade the territory, but by and large, there is a peaceful atmosphere.  However, on the battlefield, there is constant engagement – the lions and bears are now armed and armored, and they fight with a vengeance.  The battles are fiercer and come faster. Yet, in the midst of the battle, there is the greater peace that is discovered when fulfilling God’s purpose in our lives.  Sure, the carnal side cries out for tranquility, but the fighter in me yells, “Who’s next!!!” 

There is something to be said for becoming a peacemaker, and that is what God is developing us to be.

Peacemakers do not compromise and negotiate terms for the sake of solace.  Peacemakers look to those things that violate God’s word and bring war against them – drawing them into captivity.  They create an atmosphere of righteousness, wherein true peace – internally and externally - can be found.

Peacemakers recognize that life and death

exist simultaneously in the tongue.

They know that every time they speak, something comes to life while something else is put to death.  By example, as you lift someone up, the belief in the value of their existence comes alive, while simultaneously, the belief that they have no value is put to death. The more positive you bring forth in your life, the more the negative is sacrificed and put to death.

2012 was wrought with challenges, yet these challenges have proven to bring the battles that force the hard decisions – and forced people to choose life, not merely embrace it.

2013 will be better – for we are stronger.  We must be more determined to fight, to win, and to stand in alignment with God’s Word and purpose. We must work to establish true peace in our lives and in the

lives of those we influence.

Be strong and of good courage. Know that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Know that you are victorious – that the righteous are never forsaken and their seed does not beg for bread.

And have a happy and prosperous New Year!

Blessings,

Timothy

Vote Well

November 6, 2012 is Election Day in the United States of America.  In every election year, there is a lot of talk.  Ideas and ideals, objectives and objections, values and venom all seem to saturate the atmosphere as people from all sides of the political aisle weigh in with their opinion regarding how our government should be run.

This election is different than most.  There is more talk about style and less talk about substance.  We live in a day when people make decisions based on how they “feel” verses what they know.  I listen to interviews and talk to people on the streets. As I do, I become more convinced that the majority of people I talk to either do not know what our leaders believe, or they simply do not care.

People of all faith and people of no faith believe in the principle of the Good Samaritan, wherein if someone is in trouble and you have within your power the ability to help that person, help is in order.  They believe that if you choose to kill someone, it is wrong. Ask anyone and they will usually align with you when you declare, “if you do not work, you do not eat.” This is not a “dig” against someone who is unemployed – particularly in this economic environment when that problem has grown to staggering proportions.  This is a principle offered to those who simply choose to rely on others rather than find a way – any way, in some measure – to provide for their own well being.  By example, I offer what happened to a friend of mine a couple of years ago.  He is a business owner and while interviewing for a position, one man came to the scheduled appointment an announced he might as well confess that he was a “crackhead”. Oh, and he probably should not have had that beer before the interview.  With the interview over, he wanted to make certain that he interview was logged so that he could let the unemployment office he had been on a job interview that day.”  You get the picture.  

My point is, there are many shared values.  There are other values in which we are greatly divided.  Oddly enough, most of those values greatly conflict with the values we have in common. For instance, we all believe in equal rights.  We all believe that murder is wrong.  We have conflicting views about a woman’s right to choose and abortion. Even though science has proven that life begins at conception and pre-term babies have been born to live normal lives, the woman’s right to make choices for her life makes it possible to kill the child basically as long as it is still attached by an umbilical cord.

We have other conflicts. We want the freedom to say what we want and do what we want, but we wrestle with the cost that has to be paid to secure that freedom – forgetting that if we are not willing to ay that price, history has proven that those freedoms will eventually disappear. Our nation’s 200+ year history tends to ignore the history that precedes her. She moves along, making the same choices which led to the demise of many other civilizations.

The political world calls these “wedge issues”. They define these as issues that people bring up to stir trouble and divide us as a people.  They are used as leverage to sway an election.  I say if there is a wedge, it is found first and foremost in our hearts.  In the last decade, our nation has proven to be polarized.  We are basically split down the middle 50/50. Any first year science student knows that if you place an acid and an alkali together, they neutralize one another and render each other ineffective and powerless.  In many ways, that is what has happened to our great country. And, it did not start form the top down. It started in the heart of individuals fighting not for common good but rather for what was expedient for their individual lives.

The Bible tells us that a double minded man is unstable in all of his ways. A man who is a great worker and provider for his family and a caring husband and father can be plagued with an addiction to substance or even pornography.  Although he is clear on every other area of his life, the area of conflict with his own values system ill sooner or later eat at the fabric of every area of his life, neutralizing all of the good that he has done.

It is how it is with our nation. Men with a common interest of right and wrong, who even with varying backgrounds of faith held to tenants of faith with great conviction.  They designed a government with the clear understanding of basic right and wrong. They even allowed for a process of adjustment in that government, clear in the knowledge that they as men were fallible and that there would always be room for improvement.  Yet the improvements were never designed to work in opposition of basic truth.  Man has chosen to violate that, just as man chose to leave that, find a new land and start fresh, free from corruption. In shot, government has not made us. We made government.

In today’s society, what we believe is irrelevant. Christians will declare murder is wrong yet vote to put someone in office who, with great passion and intent, will fight for the right to condone murder.  They argue and say “That is not the issue. I do not need the government to tell me right from wrong.” Yet they will rely on the same government to get into their business and make other choices for them on how they are allowed to spend their money. What they can say in their churches and what their kids are allowed to believe in school.

As a nation, we are developing blindness.   

By ignoring what we know to be true, we can fight for how we feel.  We make decisions based on what we feel like we want.  That is the kind of thinking that allows someone to enter an affair against their spouse.  “They made me feel better.” “I felt like that is what I needed to do.” Who cares what is right or what I believe beyond the emotion I am feeling right now?

Back to November 6 – You have no right to be frustrated at the demise of our nation if you allow your decisions and your vote to ignore truth.  Neither do you have the right to be frustrated at the demise of our nation if your political decision is to forgo your right and responsibility to vote.  You cannot make it about style.  You cannot make it about what is cool. You cannot make it about the rhetoric that spins from both sides of the political aisle.  You must choose based on what is right and true.  The nation will not be blessed as long as her policies and values violate the will of God.

Vote well. Vote with a conscious. Vote.

The American Spirit

This past month has been filled with many significant events.  It was witness to National Conventions for the Republicans and the Democrats, in preparation for what will be a frustrating and mud-slinging filled presidential election.  It is the anniversary of the September 11 attack on our country - an event highlighted by attacks on our embassies. It is a time when a great deal of rhetoric about The American Spirit is being thrown out there by politicians and pundits, "news" (if you can call it that) commentators, an even john Q. Public, who mostly seems to rattle off information gained more from the spin of the formerly mentioned "news outlets' rather than from real honest to goodness research.  It all led me to think more about what the American Spirit really represents.  Everyone else seems to offer their two-cents worth.  Here is mine. TJB

"Good Night, John Boy!"  I grew up with "The Waltons".  The show was a portrayal of a simple American family who lived in the mountains of Virginia during the depression.  They plot and writing was simple, yet compelling - so much so, that the show is still regularly aired today.  Momma and Daddy were John and Olivia Walton, who had a house full of kids and Grandma and Grandpa, too.  Oh yes, family was family and family tends to its own.  It is the responsibility part of the American dream.  It has been lived, written about and portrayed through art throughout American history.

One time First Lady, Hillary Clinton, capitalized on the concept, as she pushed forward with her "it takes a village to raise a child."   

These days, reality shows have created a model, wherein they build a "pseudo family unit".  They cast people with different values and ideologies, who are from different walks of life, into a show where they live together. They build relationships (for better or worse), or more accurately form "alliances" for the pursuit of winning the ultimate prize, which is the bridegroom, the modeling contract, or the $200,000 at the end of the show season.

The problem is that throughout American history, there has been a steady decline in the family aspect of the American spirit.  "It takes a village to raise a child" sounds workable - up until a teacher is faced with a rebellious student and has to bring correction to that student.  More often than not, that teacher (and the administrative staff) finds him or herself on the angry end of a parent who vehemently argues, "You have no right to do that to my child."  When I was growing up, (seemingly the "Walton's" era but actually more the "Brady Bunch" era), the worse thing that could happen to me was to get into trouble at school.  If the principal had to deal with me, I could count on having Dad deal with me again when I got home.

There has been a steady decline in the family responsibility which used to play a vital role in the American spirit.   

People looked out for each other because family

looked out for each other.  

 Even when the Hatfield's and the McCoy's fought one another, they would stand side by side to defend their way of life from outside intruders.  Now, such a sentiment is considered archaic.   

We have evolved from such thinking.   Today's philosopher tries to invoke the sentiment, "Can't we just all get along." The answer is "no."

To get along means to be fitly joined together. It means that values must be common.  Goals must be shared.  For goals to be shared, each player has to have a goal that is larger than himself.  Even the simplest reality show has proven this about our society.  Some say that television is a reflection of life.  In reality, television has, for most people, become the “shaper” of life. Its programming has replaced reality as the educator of how life should be. 

Today's society does not reflect a true American Spirit.  It  is a society divided by extremes.  One extreme is the reality show, where everyone's goal is self-motivated.  Children today helping on the home, often do so because they "want something" rather than simply recognizing the importance of 

doing their share.

The opposite extreme is socialism, wherein all things individual are relinquished for the common good.  There are no individual goals, only common ones.  Oddly enough, throughout the years, those who labor to govern a socialist society usually manage to build incredible personal wealth and power.  It is one of the strongest forms of bondage in the earth.

The beauty of the American spirit is that it was fashioned in the way God designed us.  He created us with the ability to overcome and be victorious in our personal goals, while at the same time, make us effective in reaching common goals.  His litmus test was simple.  We are a part of His family and as a result, our individual goals are still in keeping with the values He placed before us.  The element which causes it to work can be carried through the family unit all the way to the success of a nation.  This has proven true in this country throughout her history.

When you have values of righteousness, you have the values of the family of God.  When your value system is founded in God's value system, your personal goals do not conflict with the goals of those who share the same values.  They enhance those goals.  Entrepreneurs flourish individually because they benefit others.  Family members excel because they have strength that comes from sticking together and making it work.  John Boy can be a writer.  Ben can own his own business. Mary Ellen can be a nurse.  Jason can pursue his music.  Elizabeth can find true love.  And, at the end of the day, the family unit flourishes because embedded in each of their goals is the understanding that we are stronger when we are together.

This is the principle God gave His children from the beginning.  It is the principle which was introduced by the founding fathers of our nation.  It is the key to the survival and success of The American Spirit.   

 

A Trustworthy Man

A man is not measured by who enters or exits his life. He is not measured by the circumstances that surround him. He is measured by how he faces those circumstances and by who he chooses to be regardless of others. The hardest part about being trustworthy is in finding others who are equally trustworthy

My son, Josiah is such a man.  He is trustworthy. It is one of his greatest qualities. He is trustworthy even, at time, to his own detriment.  It makes him a hero to me.

Every man has his own measure of how he views himself and others.  That measure takes into consideration the thoughts, feelings and expectations that are embedded in the DNA of relationships. This means that a key factor in building relationships is understanding the measure of others. 

The closer your standard of measure, the greater strength and depth you can foster in the relationship. 

If the standard of measure has a wide gap, here will be a limit to the level of relationship.  Carry that relationship too far or too deep and the separation found in that measure will bring disappointment and pain.

The Bible warns us about being “unequally yoked”.  We tend to apply this to marriages and relationships on the basis of faith and belief in God.  I believe that this principle has much greater meaning. Many people of faith, who believe in God, still have different priorities and ideas about who or what is important in their lives. 

A trustworthy man is slow to relate and to trust because once he enters a relationship, he is all in. His loyalty runs deep.  He also looks for the person on the other side of that relationship to place the same level of value on that relationship. He enters such relationships slowly because he knows that if that measure is not “equally yoked”, there will be pain. A trust worthy man is often he one who has the hardest time trusting because others do not share his value of trust.

For such a man, and for all of us, the key is to learn how to recognize the measure that others hold in their own lives. Once you can identify that, you can develop an idea of the strength a relationship will have.  When you understand the priorities of another person, you learn to anticipate and expect how that person will respond.  You develop an idea of what level of strength and trust can apply to that relationship to keep it healthy.

To the trustworthy – never stop being trustworthy. It is a rare quality in a person. Others will not understand it.  They will even try to capitalize on your loyalty.  But in the end, there will be those who enter your life who share the same values. Such are the relationships of men like David and Jonathan, or James and John in the Bible.  Their loyalty toward one another changed the course of history.

To the trustworthy – you are a hero.

A New Name

This week marks the end of an era. Life happens in seasons and like chapters in a book, those seasons have a beginning and an end.  The church that I have the privilege of pastoring has come to the end of such a chapter.  For nearly twenty years, we have been known to our community as Bethesda Church.  

This week we transition into a new name – 

Connection Church.

The name change is not just a transition, but rather one part of a seismic shift that our church has undergone.  Much like a person experiences during a coming of age or entering a marriage, entering a new season of life brings on new joys and challenges. It is a time when you have the opportunity to embrace fresh ideas, insights, plans and dreams. It is also a time that can necessitate the release of certain ideas, insights, plans and dreams.  It is a time for change and that is a good thing because 

growth without change is impossible.

What’s in a name? Your name defines you to others.  Every name carries with it meaning and that meaning should reflect who you are.  There are numerous instances in scripture where God changed the name of an individual based on a shift that had occurred in his or her life.  Jacob became Israel. Simon became Peter. Saul the persecutor became Paul, the Apostle.

I identified our transition as a seismic shift.  A seismic shift is caused by a movement in the earth that creates tremors of enormous proportions or, earthquakes.  These tremors usually have highly significant consequences.  We are living in a day and time when the earth is being shaken.  More accurately, the earth’s culture is being shaken.  That follows scripture which instructs: “…that which  can be shaken will be shaken…”  That instruction continues: “…when the shaking is done, that which cannot be shaken will remain.”  We are living through such a shaking in our world. Obviously one goal is to be standing when the shaking stops.  However, our goal became more defined.  We are looking to those who are being shaken.  How will they survive? What will be left of them when the shaking occurs in their life? 

This seismic shift challenged us in several ways.  One, what needed to shaken free of our own lives? Two, how prepared are we to reach those who have been or are being shaken? Three, how are we positioned to actually reach those who need to be reached?

This drew us to a redefining of our purpose.  In order to reach people, bring healing to their lives and help them not only put the pieces together, but discover purpose, we needed to become more relational.  We were becoming connectors.  Our vision took on fresh meaning as we embraced the concept of connectivity – connecting to God, to each other, and to our community – all for the purpose of developing Kingdom relationships and fulfilling God’s desire in the lives of the people He loves.

So our name changed to represent who we are and what we do. 

Our purpose is to establish an atmosphere where specific relationships can be fostered and developed. 

The first and foremost is the development of a relationship with God that is not just a Sunday experience, but a real straightforward 24/7 relationship with Him. Next, we want to foster relationships within our church family that not only recognize, but add dimension to the value of each individual life.  Third, we want that relational atmosphere to impact the people in our community, creating an environment where we can demonstrate the true love and light of Jesus Christ, and where, through the process, people can come to recognize the value and their need of being connected to God.

A new era – a new vision – a new name. 

                                     We are Connection Church. 

Limiting Parental Access At School

It has been a while since my last blog.  We are in the middle of a HUGE transition at our church. 

Next week we are changing our name and re-introducing ourselves to the community as CONNECTION CHURCH.

This has come after three years of preparation and we are very excited to see what God will do.

Part of the reason for the name change is to better identify with how we relate...to God, to each other and to our community.  In the interest of community relations, we have had a difficult situation occur this week regarding our school system.  I personally did not want to divide my focus during the transition we are facing, but considering our commitment to community involvement and the detrimental nature of the problem, i found myself compelled to become involved.

There is a new policy in place in our school which greatly limits parental access to the classroom of their children.  I have sat in on the school board meeting, approached and met with school board officials and have communicated my concerns with local media, as well as encouraging others to do so.  In this blog, I will post an editorial scheduled to run in this week's local paper, The Coastal Courier. I offer this advance copy to my friends and readers to ask you to pray for a positive solution to the conflict our school system and community are facing.

Liberty County School Classroom Parental Observation Policy

There is a great deal of controversy that has arisen in the wake of a policy that was put into place in the Liberty County School System. This policy affects a parent’s ability to access his or her child’s classroom for the purpose of observation.  Those behind the policy maintain that its sole purpose is to protect children and teachers from outside dangers.  They communicate that his policy is about limiting school access in the interests of safety. However, the people being limited are not unknown people. They are the parents who registered their children for school, met with teachers and administrators, and pay taxes into the school system.

The same policy that removes almost all parental observational access from the classroom has requirements for visits to the school. They include sign-ins, a requirement of legal guardianship of a student in the school, and even a provision to require photo identification to be presented upon entering school property.  The only exception to these requirements occurs on days when there are special events, when a parent and community residents -meaning anyone - can enter the building unescorted, walk unnoticed into a crowd of most or even all of the students.  If this policy is about safety, this issue should be addressed. The ability for a stranger to walk into the crowd is a far greater and more realistic threat than the likelihood of a stranger to enter school grounds and especially a classroom on a given day.

In these times, our children must be protected in the classroom and the school system has a daunting task of maintaining their safety. This issue has been spun as a safety issue. Yet, while it does little to address real safety, it does offer a great deal to protect teachers from unannounced observation by a concerned parent. To call it a safety policy damages the credibility of the system and the trust between parents and teachers. It makes it more difficult to deal with both issues.     

Today’s teachers are limited in how they can maintain discipline and order in a classroom. As a result, there are things that can occur which can greatly hinder a child’s ability to learn. Teachers often resort to raised voices in the classroom and occasionally, the classroom environment becomes unruly – even chaotic, which can be confusing and even damaging to a child. Such an environment can promote misgivings or even fear in a child and in so doing, can paralyze that child’s ability to perform and produce in the classroom, resulting in greater failure, not only academically, but in the child’s ability to relate with the teacher as an authority figure.

A child’s greatest hope in that moment is for his or her parent to have a real understanding of what is occurring in the classroom – not what is occurring in a pre-planned 20 minute observation visit, but what is occurring in the chaotic moments.  Should a parent have unfettered access? No. But a parent should be able to address an immediate concern, approach an administrator and, with that administrator, enter a classroom in that moment if there is reason for the parent to believe that the classroom environment is detrimental to the child.  This is no different than the policy that the Division of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS) imposes on a household if even one concern of a child reaches their attention.  If the classroom environment is as it should be, you have the reinforcement of witness of the administrator.  If the classroom environment is jeopardizing the learning process, it has a greater chance of being recognized and addressed properly through the administrator.

Over the course of a year, a child will spend the better part of 180 days at school. Counting a seven hour day, this means aside from extra-curricular activity, that a child will spend in excess of 1,200 hundred hours in the authority of his teachers and school administrative staff. Under this policy, unless federally mandated, a parent is only allowed to observe his child in a learning environment for 40 minutes of those 1,200 hundred hours. 72,000 minutes of school – 40 minutes of observation – preplanned, pre-prepared observation.   That is a ratio of 1/1800 minutes.

The school system touts that it wants the parents to be involved in the education process, but in reality, this policy only allows the parent to observe the classroom environment – the most important environment - for one minute per thirty hours of school.

I respectfully ask this board to reconsider this policy. Parents need greater access than this to the classrooms and teachers of our children.  You need to consider that you are sending the message that this policy is not simply about security and protecting students and staff, but about also protecting staff from a child’s voiced concerns, and about limiting a parent’s access to ascertain true information regarding that child’s concerns.

How PIlots Care

 Being a pastor of a church brings with it certain expectations. You oversee a family of sorts – people who share common interests and beliefs, who are there for each other and care about what happens in each other’s lives. I am honored to be a part of a church family that not only offers such great caring, but also goes to great lengths to extend that care beyond the walls of our church family to the lives of people on our community.

As a pilot, much of the same sentiment exists. Airplane people function as a community and look out for one another.  You do not even have to know each other. The fact that you are a pilot brings you “into the fold”. Today, July 25, 2012 was an extraordinary day for me.  It was a day when I was the first hand recipient of such caring.

It was a beautiful sunny day. The radar indicated no storms or inclement weather. I know this because I was rather frustrated at having to spend the day cooped up behind a desk and at several intervals I looked at the weather service to see what the weekend would hold in anticipation of a day at the beach.

Things changed rapidly. As I was at my desk, a huge flash and a crack of thunder occurred out of nowhere.  I tapped the app on my phone to discover radar that was completely clear except for a bright red indicator over Fort Stewart, Georgia. I counted it as nothing and continued my work until moments later I received a call from the manager of the Fixed Based Operations at Mid-Coast Regional Airport where I keep my plane. 

“Tim” stated Charlie, “there has been an incident out here." 

"A tornado or something just came through the airport. It ripped your plane from the tie-downs and sent it airborne. Your plane flew a moment then crashed into the ground. You better come out here.”

I sat there in disbelief. The sun was still shining. This had to be a joke. But it was real. I got to the airport to find chaos. Trees were ripped apart. All of the planes had been twisted in their moorings. Some of them appeared to have suffered damage to their landing gear. Then there was mine – nose to the ground, tail in the air.  My sturdy, reliable PA-28 was bowing forward as if to offer to me a formal hello.

The two hours that followed were hectic. The plane was not in a safe place.  It was untied and sitting near the fuel station. It was also in proximity to other aircraft where left alone the wind could pick it up and send it crashing into another plane. We did not want to move it out of concern that the insurance company would need an adjuster to survey the situation. At 5:30 p.m., I called AOPA.  At 5:45 p.m. an adjuster called me. He was very reassuring.  He gave me instructions on photographing the site and gave me the option of moving the plane or for him to send a recovery team to move it for me.

I opted to move it myself and returned to the airport to figure out how to do that. When I arrived, there were a host of pilots standing around my plane. They all offered their concern and asked if I was okay. No one said, “I know how you feel.” No one said, “At least you weren’t in there,” or “you have your health.” Those things were obvious and yes I am grateful. On a scale of life, the loss of an object does not measure up to the loss of life. Things can be replaced.  But I think you would almost have to be a pilot to understand the pain I was feeling in that moment. They did. They instinctively knew that I did not need to hear those things in that moment.

They also worked in concert to formulate a plan and devise a way to move the plane in a manner that would not cause further damage. My friend Charlie called and cancelled his evening engagement to stay and help solve the problem. Another, perhaps 25 years my senior, insisted on crawling under the wing with me and together, we lifted the plane with our backs to place a wheeled dolly under the broken main gear.

Another pilot, who is a new friend and an A&P (airframe and power plant) mechanic talked to me and to others over the phone as to how to move the plane safely. He then had the FBO manager open his hanger and produce the tools necessary to facilitate the move. He also offered to me several scenarios surrounding whether or not my plane would be a total write off or repairable and thought he was enroute to Texas, assured me that before the weekend was over, he would survey the place with me to see if it was salvageable. He has already located a donor aircraft to scrounge for parts in the event that the frame on my plane is salvageable.

Dr. Larry Brandenburg, an old and dear friend and mentor stopped what he was doing to talk me through the process and encourage me. He joked with me over the phone and let me know it was going to be okay. He reminded me that it wasn’t “just a plane”. It was my first – a faithful friend that had been the one to lift me off the ground and experience a freedom others never understand. A friend in whom I had placed the trust of my life, to lift me up and bring me safely back to the earth. He said it is appropriate to mourn, because while it was made of metal, fabric and wires, it was not a mere inanimate object, but a part of me. It was a representation of that first taste of freedom.  He said, “Timmy, I am over eighty years old. I have flown for more than sixty-five years. I still remember my first one.”

This day should have been terrible – and it was.  Still in the middle of all the chaos the day wasn’t so terrible. Those men surrounded me as if it were a part of the daily process and carried me through the moment. It is how pilots care.

I left that moment to return straight to my pulpit for a Wednesday night service already in progress. I thanked my congregation for having the same fortitude in demonstrating care toward others and challenged them to consider the value of their actions on an even greater level. I also offered this thought which I now offer to you: “ If we could show that same love and concern for others – if we could lay aside our agenda just for a moment when we see someone in need – how much better could we make our world? What kind of difference would we make in the lives of others? Think about the difference you can make today. 

The "Greater Than" Life

In elementary school Mathematics, one of the topics that is taught is values.  It is taught with the use of two mathematical symbols:  ">" and "<".  ">" is the symbol which means, "greater than".  "<" is the symbol which means "less than". 

For example: 16 > 8 is stated: 16 is greater than 8.  7 < 12 is stated: 7 is less than 12.

Values are a part of our everyday existence.  They are what drive the different aspects of our day.  Each and every activity of our life carries with it a specific value.  It is what decides how man prioritizes his life.

It is sadly humorous that if you poll average people about what is important to them, they will almost always offer you a list of things which are supposedly significant to their lives.  They will offer a list that ranges from health and weight loss or control, to financial security, to strong family and spiritual relationships.  Yet for the average person's ability to offer these things as the most important - they generally prove to be the least important aspects of their life.

It has become very easy complain about one's weight or physical condition only to, moments later, order the greasiest, most fattening thing available to put into one's mouth.  It is very common to determine that one needs more time with his family, only to go home and spend three or four hours mindlessly watching television.  Many talk about the concern they have for their financial future, only to pull out the credit card or refinance papers on their home to purchase the next thing they "have to have" for their lives.

God's people need to rediscover the "greater than - less than” principle.  We are, by God's design, incredibly inventive creatures.  I can remember having a discussion - almost an argument with my teacher over "greater than - less than" in math.  In one assignment, I determined that 7 > 12. She marked the problem incorrect.  By her way of thinking (and the math book's), seven is not greater than 12. 7 is less than 12.  However, my argument was that 7 was my favorite number.  It was the number that God made as completion (Sunday School at work) and therefore was the GREATEST of all numbers.  I suppose it is all in how you define it.

That is precisely how we look at life.  We have one set of values (like the math) which operates on facts and data.  We have another set of values which are purely subjective based on our immediate desires and whims.  Is 7 really the greatest number?  Is it of greater value than 5, which is the number of grace?  Or, perhaps 3, which is the number of the Trinity?  Where would we be without good old number 8, the number of new beginning.  

Many quote true realistic values as if they were priorities.  However, they live by the things which are of real importance to their desires; things which promote immediate pleasure, even at the cost of sacrificing the true priorities.

You need to develop a true grasp of what is really greater.   

Immediate gratification always costs more - and always increases the desire for more immediate gratification.   

If you can learn what is truly greater - if you can master the Master's value system, then you will have accomplished a great thing. You will have positioned yourself to truly succeed.

A life whose values are based on the emotions and desires of the moment ultimately becomes an empty life.  King Solomon proved that.  A life which is measured by the things that truly matter is a life of great worth.  God created a value system.  He defined it in His word.  He created you with the inventive ability to capitalize on that value system.  If you do, you will prosper from the soul out.

Start communicating a desire for good health and a firm, fit body.  Then, quit stuffing that body full of things which render it nearly impossible to obtain that good health.  Make the statement over your life that being debt free is "greater than". Then, quit pulling out the credit card because you need that new gadget or item.  Stop spending money which could be used to eliminate debt to buy the next thing in the attempt to alleviate the pain of lack.  These always prove to be the most costly of medicines.

Learn the difference between what is "greater than" and what is "less than".  Let the litmus test for it be the fruit which is produced over time, not by the moment.  If you do, you will find yourself living a "Greater Than" Life.   

Embracing Change

This week, a commentator on a radio broadcast made an observation I had never before considered. He was speaking of the financial crisis that America is facing, specifically in reference to policies that certain leaders in federal government are trying to pass.   In defense of their position regarding changes to regulatory policies, one of the leaders offered that the regulatory changes had been offered for consideration to leaders in the industries involved.  As they were in favor of them, the nation should also be in favor of them.

The commentator offered this interesting objection to that logic.  Paraphrased, he stated:

“Consider the transportation industry of 100 years ago.  Consider that the government determined the need to regulate the development of air travel, and that in the process of establishing those regulations, the regulatory commission decided to look to the transportation leaders of the day. They would draw together the input of people who built locomotives, ships, buses and automobiles.  They would ask them to define the regulations surrounding air travel.  Each member of that community would stand to lose business in the advent of air transport. What incentive would they have for backing legislation that would not only aid a competitor, but backing an industry that would antiquate their own businesses?   In this scenario, current industry leaders would have the opportunity to regulate the air industry so tightly that it would 

never get off the ground.”

The commentator applied the same logic to health care.  

“If one company came up with an alternative medical breakthrough that could cure cancer, for the government to allow the companies who make their living selling cancer medicine to be the voice of regulation of the new procedure in cancer research is potentially very counter productive.   It takes hundreds of millions of dollars to develop medicines and often a decade to have the medicine approved for distribution.  Having a new cure discovered before the industry’s research investment can realize a profit in the form of drugs sold is not in the best interest of the pharmaceutical companies.”

The sentiment is clear. The status quo is usually set by a life built in a certain way. Change always affects the status quo, ergo, it affects those who live by it.  Those who profit or reap the benefits of comfort from the status quo are often the strongest opponents to change.

Change requires innovative thought. 

Change requires vision. 

Change can require letting go of everything in order

to gain what is necessary for the future.  

The unwillingness to embrace change eventually leads a to stagnant life. Years ago, Kodak did not want to divide their resources and run the risk of losing their consumer base in the industry.  Their most valued clients were those in the major motion picture industry and professional photographers. Everyone in their customer base in is to a large degree, artistic. Most artists believe themselves to be “purists”.  Kodak bet the farm on the belief that digital photography and video was a fad and that the “purists” of the industry would not only reject digital media, but would also reject any company that progressed in digital media.  The stock reports told the story.  Kodak lost the bet.  They were in the position of having to risk letting go of a major portion of their empire in order to build for the future and they were unwilling to let go. Unwillingness to embrace change cost them dearly.

We are moving in the midst of a new generation.  That fact is as constant as the spinning of the earth.  There is great power in time-honored traditions.  There is great power in holding onto proven fundamental beliefs and core values.  However, there is a danger when one holds onto his current status in life under the assumption that the static things are the fundamental things or the core elements of life.

Cartographers for generations built their map trade on the core belief that the earth was flat.  I am certain that those guys stood in opposition to the guys who began to sell globes.  We can view that with a certain logic and even a little humor. But what happens when God wants to take our “flat life” and “round it out?” People often declare that they want to go to new levels. They want to be on the cutting edge. They forget that the cutting edge may cause them to sail off the end of the earth. Christopher Columbus was so short-handed for a crew that he wound up with a ship full of criminals who opted for the unknown and possible oblivion I lieu of a known lifetime of imprisonment.  Ol’ Chris understood that to be the cutting edge meant sailing to the edge. He could fall off the planet in the middle of the night, taking not only his life, but also those in his charge.  He risked everything, not just comfortable things.  His motley crew could, and some eventually did mutiny, taking from his hand much of the resources he had left

for the journey.  Yet something inside of him said, 

“History hasn’t figured it out. There is more than what you are seeing and living.”  

Even being proven wrong was to risk and likely end all he had worked for.  

Everything was on the line.

To truly move forward with God means embracing change. God doesn’t change, but He changes us. The earth continually changes and to walk in it as He decreed, we have to recognize those changes and be in front of them. There is a generation that is dying. There is a people looking for the airplane in an automobile world.  God is looking for the innovators – for those who can recognize how to maintain the core values and beliefs while offering them in ways that are fresh and attainable to the new generation. He is looking for the warriors who will lay it on the line to lead a generation toward Him. 

The season ahead will require several changes.  Some of them will be seem minor. Others will seem major. All of them will require those who embrace them to consider what they will hold onto and what they will release as a seed toward a better future.

Such change will require innovation.  It will require a people courageous enough to reconsider how they present the gospel. It will require those who will re-evaluate what is really value and even how they will live life. It will require people for whom the true fundamentals will remain; for whom core beliefs are established and not changed or threatened by method.  It will require a people who are unwilling to live by the status-quo of their current life –for whom the “flat-life” is not acceptable.  God is looking for a people who can wrap their minds around His “globe” His world. He is looking for a people who will embrace change.

The Gift of Observation

One of the greatest gifts God has placed in man is the ability to observe. As a pastor, a a husband and father, and even as a member of the community, I have worked hard to be a determined observer. I am a pilot and one of the most important things a pilot must to is continually observe all that is around him. Failure to see even one detail can be disastrous.

 As I write this blog, I am on the balcony of an apartment in San Pedro De Marcoris, Dominican Republic. I am right in the heart of town next to a busy intersection. I am engaged in ministry every night and most days. However, my "down time" if there is such a thing, has been incredibly productive. Without transportation and with little command of the language, when I am not out ministering, I am like a bird n a cage, perched in a unique observation point. It has given me the opportunity to finish a book I am writing. It has also given me the opportunity to exercise the gift of observation. In a week, I have learned what vehicles belong here and and those that do not. I have learned the faces of the locals and even a dew of their habits. I know the routine of the local police in these few blocks. I know who works, who doesn't work and who pretends to work. I can see prosperity, mediocrity, and poverty all from the same balcony. I find myself amazed that on one corner in a city, if you are careful you can observe the balance of life. 

In traveling through the city, my awareness of what I see from my perch has made me more acutely aware of what I discover in the rest of the city.  All of this caused me to think about how people observe, and more importantly what they do once they have made an observation. 

 As a pastor, I used to face great frustration on the midst of certain observations made and brought to me by others. In my first year of ministry, I felt compelled to act on such observations because they always seemed to point to a need. As a traveling minister, my actions came at great personal cost, both financially and physically. When I embraced the responsibility of pastoring, I found the compulsion to act even more draining. It seemed that everywhere I turned, would encounter another observer. that observer would identify the need and bring it to me to solve or resolve. Each time I acted, people would be happy about it. But, each time I took my hand off the action, that which I had done to correct the problem would quickly disintegrate. It was very frustrating, so much so that I began to pray for a specific answer. One came in the form of a writing from Erwin McManus, the pastor of the Mosaic in California.

 In his book "Chasing Daylight", he wrote:

 "I couldn't begin to count the number of times people would come up and say, 'Pastor, something needs to be done about...' With every identified problem there was a program, service or a ministry that needed to be started. It seemed as of the congregations job was to find the problems and recommend the solutions and my job was to et them done. Somewhere along the way, out of desperation, I began to ask the people who identified the need to become part of the solution. The response was almost uniform. 'Oh, no, not me. I just felt that it was important to point out the need.' This is where side-liners are particularly lethal. They have so much time to watch life go by that they have a great view of all of the problems, which inspires them, especially when they assume that their role in life is to point out what's wrong. They conclude that their contribution is at best to suggest solutions and then 

sit back and evaluate how we are doing." 

 Erwin went on to explain that "observers" like this can drain you of everything. They move you by need, control you by guilt, and are willing to leave you dead from exhaustion. He continued by identifying that he encountered the same problem I discovered that while people were quick to point out a need, they were unwilling to participate in that need. as a result, he could implement what was necessary to touch the need only to see it fail for lack of human willingness to see it through.

 Shortly after reading this book I had a young man who had spent some time with our congregation. He was frustrated because I was not allowing his gift to flourish. When asked what his gift was, he replied that his was to observe the condition and need of city and point it out to the pastor of the church so that something could be done. I offered to him that I had responded to his concerns. I had placed him in the position of reaching directly into the needs he encountered and was willing to back him with human and financial resource the moment he produced 

some effort and momentum. Then I asked him, 

"In the midst of all of that need, who have you reached?" 

He then informed me that his was only the gift of observation. He was to call others to action, not act himself. Oddly the thought that crossed my in in that moment was William Wallace calling his men into action...seated upon his horse with a sword in his hand. The point is this. Created in God's image, you have the powerful ability to observe all that happens around you. If God stirs your heart about a need, then He is likely speaking to you about that need. If your compulsion to identify that need is strong enough to press someone for a solution, then you need to consider that God is pressing you to be a part of that solution. The call to action is only really answered by those ready to lead the charge. Hence, if it is yours to call, be prepared to lead he battle. The gift of observation is a tool of action. It only works when you act.