A More Excellent Way

Tonight marks a special occasion.  It is one of the most exciting for me, because for our ministry, it is a specific indication of marked growth.  Tonight, I have the honor of ordaining a new elder into our congregation.  It is a great responsibility as he and his wife will now be an extension of the pastoral arm of our church family.  They will be charged to lead well, to live truth, to walk in humility, and to walk in honor. 

During the ordination ceremony, there is a specific apostolic charge that will be administered to our new elder.  As I prepare for this event, I began to consider that charge, and the effect it would have, not only on his life and the life of his family, but the effect such a charge would have on God’s children, period…if only they would embrace it.   In consideration of this, I thought I would share a portion of that charge with you.

“The Word of God tells us that the needy are with us always.  There is always a need to fill.  One responsibility that you must embrace is to recognize the true need and fill it according to God's purpose. You must learn to recognize when people draw on you, they are either looking for a fish or for an education.  You must know which is appropriate to give and when to give it.  You must also know that tending to the needs and spiritual leadership of others is one of, if not the most taxing thing you will ever encounter.  Each time you minister, you impart life.  Each time you impart life, life flows through you and even from you.  Without a rejuvenation process, this new life will drain you and your family.”

                                                         

For this reason it is important to care for the spiritual and physical needs of you and your family.  Make it a priority to renew your relationship with the Holy Spirit and with your wife, daily.  Establish specific time to worship and to draw nourishment from the Word of God.  As you seek His counsel and guidance for leadership, remember to strengthen your personal relationship with Him as well.

As you minister to others, you cannot help but "feel the weight" of their life situations.  As you experience the effects of that weight, your wife experiences it as well.  As she walks with you, she now walks in the light of the calling on your life.  They price you pay, she also pays.  Your first ministry is to her. Paul's instruction to love your wife as Christ loves the church will take on a whole new meaning. More than ever, it is now important to place diligent effort toward your marriage, and guard it against attack of the enemy.”

Lead well.  In today's society, truth is often made to look like error, while error is widely proclaimed as truth.  One of the greatest responsibilities you now embrace is to keep people mindful of what is true.  Your responsibility before this body is to the visionary and to the vision.  Keep that vision in front of the people.  When they stray from it, lead them back to it.  When their understanding of truth becomes distorted, bring clarity.  Shine a light in love that will restore hope and righteousness.”

Live the truth.  Your life is a demonstration of kindness.  It resides in your heart and in your speech.  Persuasion is more effective than force, so, lead by kind example. Rejoice with the body in their successes.  Weep when they weep.  Demonstrate that a life of righteousness is not a dream, but a reality.”

Guard your character and your integrity. When disappointment arises, take it to God and not to the congregation; nor to your family.  Demonstrate the trust you have in your apostle and in the leaders who stand alongside of you. As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” 

Finally, know that you not only carry the heart of God, you are entrusted to carry my heart, as your Apostle.  As God has entrusted the leadership of this people to me, I extend that trust to you.  As you guard your heart against any attack of the enemy, I ask you to guard my heart.  Love the people as God loves them and as I love them.  Recognize that your service to the body is not simply about tending their need.  Every effort made toward them is also an effort made to lift my hands, as Aaron and Hur did for Moses in their day of battle.”

As we labor together, we will be victorious in the fulfillment of the purpose God has established for us on the earth.”

An elder leads by instruction, by application, and by the example of his own life.  This charge is administered to the elders of our church, that they may demonstrate excellence in their kingdom walk – not only to the people who are in their entrusted care, but to everyone who is in some way connected to their life.  Theirs is to demonstrate a Christ-like lifestyle.

As you consider this charge and its effects, consider how this instruction can bring change to your life.  It will not only promote balance, it will lead you to what one of my dearest mentor’s used to call “A More Excellent Way.”  Every action of your life carries with it a direct effect on someone or something.  As you consider the balance of your life, it will force you to consider the actions of your life.  You will begin to measure each action by its effect and its purpose.  In short, you will live with purpose – on purpose.

I hope this speaks to your heart and calls you to rise to the challenge of “the more excellent way” in your own life.

Be blessed.

That's What C····tmas Means To Me

Several years ago, I shared this article.  There was a great response to it from the readers.  By request, I have resubmitted it for this season.  I hope it touches your heart. TJB

The title of this article is "That's What C····tmas Means To Me". Do you find the title appalling or maybe even offensive?  This holiday has taken quite a beating over the last few years.  However, this year my senses seem to be heightened to it's plight.  For me, it is not simply about a yuletide tradition.  It is about a dangerous trend in American society regarding any reference to Christ or Christianity.

What is billed as an argument for the separation of church and state has really proven to be a movement to eliminate Christianity in America.  I read an article describing a December parade of lights in a major U. S. city.  The parade officials rejected Christian entries in the parade because of "direct religious themes".  The article went on to include that the parade accepted an entry that honored people recognized as "holy" by a gay and lesbian group.  Another entry included a dance "meant to drive away evil spirits".  This parade traditionally carried a Christmas theme but in the age of political correctness, faced sudden changes.  My concern is that the other entries also have religious themes.  They are just non-Christian themes. 

I have observed this trend in our schools.  As a student in middle school, I was chastised by a teacher for my report on a Christian theme but was required to learn about Eastern religion on the basis that it was "cultural".

Another recent article tells of a Florida elementary school that is so concerned over the issue that they are banning seasonal celebrations altogether.  They have opted to have the students sing about America and patriotism instead of about C····tmas and the holidays.  Although on the surface this appears to be an acceptable alternative, it also feels dangerously close to the actions that we were taught as destructive to freedom.  Communist countries teach children there is no God and that their life purpose should be directed by the "will of the people".  Their children also replace religion for songs about their country and its leaders.  Forgotten is the reason this country came into being to begin with.  People paid a terrible price to build a life where they could worship God without restraint.  It is called freedom. 

The message that is being relayed is incorrect.  Some, who do not honor God, falsely accuse believers in God of trying to force their beliefs upon them.  They say believers are unfair. They argue that believers discriminate against them.  They will tolerate a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Rastafarian, a druid or any other religious sect, yet they will lead the march in discrimination when it comes to someone's right to worship or declare their love for Jesus Christ.

In reality, a quick trip to your local department store the day after Halloween gives a clear indication of how people feel about Christmas, religion not withstanding.  So does a drive around your neighborhood on a December night and the general sense of goodwill in the grocery store parking lot.  This holiday does not threaten people.  People are going to believe what they choose to believe.  My father always told me, "You cannot push a rope."  This is true.

What C····tmas means to me is that my country is dangerously close to sacrificing its values based on incorrect ideas and thinking.  Moral code is always tied to belief and when you fight to eliminate ones right to believe, you eliminate moral code.  You soon find yourself subject to everyone's right to a lack of morals.  The result is the necessity of armed policemen in our middle and high schools.

How does one eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  When these issues began to surface, many people swallowed them in "little bites".  We have eaten a lot of this elephant without realizing it and it is time we take notice.  My hope is that we exercise our right to believe this year -- and put Christ back in Christmas!

ENOUGH SAID

It has been a while since I have posted.  Time has been at a premium this month.  Between traveling to Mexico for a Men’s Congress, and returning home to a major Advent and Christmas production, something had to give.  Apparently it was the blog site.  Go figure, it is one of my favorite outlets, mainly because it gives me the opportunity to encourage others.

That is my mission here.  I have had a few ask me, “Apostle, why don’t you use the site to bring the things you have taught to so many?”  And, “That message was great – insightful and challenging.  It should be on the post.”  Or, “I never realized the powerful gift God gave us with regard to the Eucharist, or ‘Lord’s Supper’.  I will never receive it in the same way.”

(I quoted these because I told those who said it; I would get around to it. This blog post is dedicated to them!!!)

Quite frankly there is a reason why I do not use this venue to bring “the deeper things”.  I did not create this blog to spread doctrine.  I created it to offer encouragement to others – to inspire people and challenge them to consider how to wring the most out of life and to recognize the potential God built in them.

I often receive response from people who have read the blog, or read one of my articles in the paper.  Some are encouraging.  Others are – well – let’s just say, I would expect a bit more from a pastor…

Not that it bothers me, but in recent weeks, it has apparently bothered a few others.  Hence this post, which is designed to bring simple clarity of purpose to the reason for this blog in the first place.

There are people from all walks of life who touch my world.  This is intentional.  I harvested that by specifically targeting people who are usually avoided by the “religious community at large”.  I have had believers delete me from their list of facebook friends because they took offense at a posting on my page from someone who used course language or someone who’s post indicated that they were living in an ‘alternative lifestyle’.  “What if your church members see that?” Or, “What example are you setting for your children?”  Hopefully, it is one that Jesus labored to set for us…love one another.  Faith that can be shaken by such outburst is a shaky faith indeed.  One interesting comment that came was an unsigned, anonymous note.  In its entirety it read:

“Therefore, come out from among them and be ye separate, says the Lord.  Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. 2 Cor. 6:17 –

ENOUGH SAID”

The problem here is compound.  First, the verse alone is out of context.  Paul was referring to believers in Corinth who were entering relationships (sexual in connotation) and marrying others who’s beliefs were contrary to the Gospel.  The word “touch” is the Greek word,  ἅπτομαι  (hä'p-to-mī)  (St G680)  It defines the “attaching of one’s self to, to adhere to, to cling to, and more specifically, of carnal intercourse or cohabitation.  From a Levitical standpoint - the avoidance of pagan ritual." – NOTE: Not avoiding pagans.  The Israel of old had a plan to adopt those who were not Jewish into the fold( see RAHAB)  If they were to avoid such people all together, there would be no need for such a plan.     

Ironically, in 2 Cor. 6:14, which is part of the same instruction from Paul, he uses the phrase “unequally yoked together” with unbelievers.  This phrase is a translation of the Greek word ἑτεροζυγέω  (he-te-ro-zü-ge'-ō). It means "to come under a different or unequal yoke."  In this case Paul was forbidding the Church at Corinth from having intercourse with unbelievers.

(Another ironic note is that I find myself trying desperately to teach unwed BELIEVERS not to have intercourse with others – believers or not, until they are married – a story for another venue on another day!)

What is funny about the words Paul used is that they are derived form the word Jesus used - ζυγός (zü-go's) (St. G2218) which means "yoke, or enslaved" and ἕτερος (he'-te-ros) (St. G2087) which means "to another, a number, of different value or quality."  These words in context of Jesus’ teachings referred to being enslaved to the religious mindset of the Pharisees, who were long on sacrament and protocol but short on spiritual insight and compassion.  They believed their expression of worship was the most revelatory and that those who could not see it were of a lesser mind and purpose. In short, their’s was a judgmental life in which they were the only ones with a valid point to make.  Hence, their role in the Crucifixion.  Jesus' teachings, actions and associations were naive to their revelation and thus, He was disqualified as a Messiah.   

All this to say, relax, I am not unequally yoked.  I am looking at the people to whom Jesus reached out.  They were fishermen, tax collectors, doctors, Jews, gentiles, even demoniacs and prostitutes.  And I took notice of the phrase, “To him who has ears to hear, let him hear…”  Jesus reached those in need by inspiring them and encouraging them.  He knew that not everyone in His hearing was prepared to receive all He could say.  He used parables which seldom “quoted the word” but inspired while introducing to people, kingdom values and principles. He carefully held the doctrine of the kingdom to those who embraced Him and were walking with Him.  The multitude vs. the disciples.  Those who were listening vs. those who were listening and following.  When Jesus did open the Word, He generally brought challenge and even provocation – usually to the religious.   There are times for that but not here.

Jesus said, if I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.  My purpose here is to exalt Jesus.  It is to encourage and inspire those who do not know Him to discover Him and how great He is.  Further, it is to inspire those who do know Him to discover in greater measure the plan and purpose He designed for their life.   

To surmise, my dad told me, “Don’t tell everybody everything you know.”  He was right.  This blog is not an indication of all of who I am.  It is an indication of something I want to be: a man who encourages, a man who inspires, and a man who demonstrates with simple clarity that God is love.

Enough said.

Succession - Through God’s Eyes

In the last couple of blogs, I focused on succession and legacy.  I write this from my hotel room in Toluca, Mexico, as I continue to prepare for a men’s congress here this weekend.  My purpose in that congress is to convey much of what I have shared in the blogs over the last several days.

Succession was the focal point of our 2010 National Conference for the International Coalition of Apostles.  I was greatly moved during this ten-year anniversary, as I watched C. Peter Wagner pass the mantle to my Apostle, John P. Kelly.  For those who do not know, the ICA was birthed by Apostle Kelly e decade ago.  In its inception, Apostle Kelly felt led to call upon Dr. Wagner to be the president of the organization.  Dr. Wagner’s leadership and labor of love have been a great blessing and an inspiration to us all. 

Within the apostolic movement, one major concern has continued to present itself.  That concern is the process of succession.  Hence; the reason for it becoming the topic of this year’s conference.  There have been great moves of God throughout the years – many within the United States.  Some were large, others were compartmentalized.  Most were very effective in reaching others with the gospel of Christ and His Kingdom…and most died the same death.  Somehow, in the process of fulfilling the plan and purpose God placed within the leaders of the movement, the element of succession was missing.  No one was raised up to carry the movement to the next level or to the next generation.  The seed scatters and the benefits of the movement may influence others for a season, but as a whole, it loses a lot of its effectiveness.  A city is taken, transformed, put on the map spiritually, only to become an entry in the history book and a ghost town. 

In studying God’s word, I do not believe that the plan of God is that man labors for a time, takes dominion of an area, dies and allows that area to be retaken by the enemy.  I believe that God called us to establish a stand, take the ground to which we are called and develop those who will labor to continue it and to make it grow and flourish.  Repeatedly, the words, “This shall be to you and to your children, and to your children’s children…to the third and fourth generation” appear in God’s plan.    This is why it is so important to understand not only the role you play in God’s kingdom, but the role your spiritual and natural offspring are to play.  My father graciously fought against nepotism in our family and ministry.  Nepotism is one of the greatest dangers to the church, and really to leadership as a whole.  Businesses die because nepotism placed a son or a daughter into a position for which they were neither called nor qualified, simply because of their name.

My father recognized early on that my walk, my gifts, my leadership philosophy and even my personality were vastly different from his.  He knew that if he tried to make me walk “his line”, I would self-destruct, or worse, destroy others in my wake.   He challenged me early on by acknowledging our differences and even celebrating them.  However, he also took great care to make certain that woven into my spiritual and mental DNA were the tools necessary to feed the development of my love and passion for God and for God’s kingdom.  In this manner, he helped to solidify that whatever I did; I would continue the work of the Kingdom within my own life.  This is a cornerstone for succession.  Then he did the unthinkable to the natural mind.  He encouraged me to embrace Apostle Kelly as my spiritual covering because I was to reach for things that would require guidance beyond our relationship.  When Dad ordained me, he made this statement.  “ I did not raise you to stand beneath me and undergird me.  I gave you everything I’ve got.  I commission you to stand on my shoulders and go where I haven’t gone.  And you better run fast because I don’t intend to stop.  Don’t EVER let me pass you.  Run harder and faster and fulfill your role in the Kingdom.”  I will never forget…

Another essential key to succession is knowing when to release.  I was disturbed by the number of people that I encountered at the conference; who face great challenge of time, because they have never been released into their call by their spiritual leaders.  I have many friends, who’s true ministry never surfaced until they reached the age of 50, because they were bound to the service of their mentor until he dropped dead in his seventies.  To the opposite end, most of the people that I encountered, who entered their prominent ministry in their prime years, either did so because they got saved, excited, educated and launched.  The majority of these ministers are first generation ministers.  They were not raised in church, or to serve other ministers.  They caught it and ran with it.  TO an equal and opposite end, most of the ones who were waiting for their ministry to open up are second generation ministers, who served under their natural or spiritual parents.  The gap that I found interesting is that when I encountered a minister who had launched in his prime, who had been raised under a ministry, he was a third, fourth or even a seventh generation minster. 

This indicates that there has to be a link regarding succession.  A lot of times, the first generation minster hits this wall.  He does not know when or how to create the release necessary for the next generation to move forward.  The result is that stagnation occurs, hope is deferred and the succession is destined for failure.

I speak of this in terms of ministry because that is where I was raised, but the same holds true for business.  I have encountered the same phenomenon in troubleshooting suffering businesses.  I have spent hours talking what third and fourth generation business owners to discover that the key to the continued success was knowing how and when to release the next generation correctly.    

I have to believe that God not only created us this way, but demonstrated it openly with His own son, Jesus.  Jesus was on the earth for 33 years, yet His ministry centered around the last 3.  There was a brief mention during His 12^th year, when He sat and mesmerized the rabbis in the temple.  I find it interesting that His launch into public ministry was not simply God’s decision, but a joint decision between God as His Father and Mary as His mother.  He instructed Him to do His first public miracle.  God did not need Mary to “push Jesus out of the nest”, yet He chose to have her be a part of that launching.  She recognized that it was time.  Why did He use her?  It set a precedent that the process of release handed down through the generation of Judaism was of God’s design.

We must recognize that the greatest value God has placed in our lives is the gift of reproduction.  As long as the earth remains, there is seed tome and there is harvest.  He never intended foe the fruit of our labor to survive only one generation.  He determined that our fruit should bear continually.

I am thankful to my father, Phil Byler, to my apostle, John Kelly, and to his spiritual father, C. Peter Wagner for striking the chord of succession in my heart…especially when I am young enough to implement it in my own children.  I hope my words encourage you to consider the process of succession.  Doing so will prove to be a major key in the success of your generations to come.   

SUCCESS IN YOUR KIDS

 Several months ago, my wife, Cindy and I prompted several conversations with the kids about the desires for their future. This, to solicit their response to training we have offered at Bethesda church, where we serve as apostle and pastor.  We have exuded a great deal of effort in communicating with our congregation how to view one’s life with regard to the future.  The teaching has placed a strong emphasis on the importance of preparing for and building for the future – lest the future comes after you!  There are a number of ministry tools that we employ, including Celebrate Recovery and Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.  We have chosen to incorporate these tools into the training of our young people as well as our adult congregation.

The responses from our kids were very insightful, and served to challenge us to take even greater consideration of some things as we continue to prepare for their future.

1. The future may contain our legacy, but it is their future.  A common mistake in raising a family is the tendency to “pass on the family tradition” to the next generation.  Being raised in ministry, I can show you historical and biblical precedent for this.  It is noble and many traditions, trades, and businesses are passed from one generation to another.  Yet what is missed is that the success of those traditions or business ventures depends almost entirely upon the heart of the one who inherits it.  Too often, a son or daughter takes over the family business, only to drive it into the ground because he or she has no passion or aptitude for it.

2. People have a tendency to be very “picky” about how their legacy is preserved.  In one instance, I know a man who took over the family business, but was completely locked in a stranglehold because his father was determined that the business would remain in its “pure” form – not suffer a change of venue or personality.  Perhaps the sentiment was noble.  “This is how I built it.  This is how it must remain.”  This man remained frustrated as he continued to loyally abide by his father’s wishes.  Unfortunately, sentiment trumped practicality.  Ten years later, the business was outdated and is no longer there.  The man went on to create his own business – one substantially more successful than the previous one, yet even as his father neared death,  there was portrayed a sense of disappointment and failure.  The father could not recognize that the legacy was not in the business, but in the values and wisdom he had imparted to his son.

3. There is a tendency on the part of parents to consider that the actions of their kids point to certain failure. In fact, failure may occur.  It is a part of life.  What is forgotten is that regardless of how we try to protect our kids from failure – they will fail at some level.  Too often, it proves out that the protecting of one’s child from failure is also the preventing of the child’s success. The key is teaching them how to learn from their failures and develop that knowledge into success.  For instance, I know someone who’s father constantly battled him about his extensive obsession with computers, and how that obsession would prevent him from doing anything real.  A few years ago, this individual became a multi-millionaire by selling the software he developed to a major computer corporation.  The money he produced money now funds extensive missionary work.

The key to the success of your kids is found in scriptural principle.  Life and death reside simultaneously in the power of the tongue.  When God created us, He also made us creative.  Our words, actions and deeds, by God’s design affect our future.  Therefore, He knew  that they would and designed us to have an effect on our future   he leads, guides and directs those who listen, but His design established that man would speak to his own future.   A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord guides his steps. (Pr. 16:9)

In this light, Proverbs 22:6 instructs us to train up a child in the way he should go, that when he is old he will not depart form it.  Many misinterpret this to mean “Here is the direction for your life.  Anything else is failure and is not God’s perfect will.”  This is not God’s plan.

“In the way he should go is an English interpretation of the Hebrew words “Derek” (דֶּרֶךְ) and “peh” (פֶּה ).  Derek defines “a course of life with moral character, a direction or journey toward the direction of ”.  Peh means one’s mouth.  Peh actually comes from the Hebrew word “pa-ah” ( פָּאָה )which to break into pieces and scatter.  Consider then, that a child should be trained to develop moral character so as to move forward through his life into the direction declared by his mouth – words spoken and scattered and spread into his future.

It would be like a vinesman trying to force a grapevine to grow like a potato, or for an apple to grow like an onion.  The responsibility of the vinesman is not forcing the grape to grow in the ground, but to recognize what is inside it and prepare the trellis that will allow it to grow as God intended.

Raising a child in the way he should go means imparting to the child through godly counsel, wisdom and knowledge, the information and insight he will need to walk in moral uprightness with the ability to hear from God, and use his gifts, talents resources and passions to produce both in the earthly realm as well as the heavenly realm.

This means that in order to help guide my kids to success, I have to consider the future they feel and see.  I cannot simply help them build toward the future I can see.  If I miss this, the legacy I leave will be “my kids carried on my work.”  It will last at best only one generation if their heart and desire is not for it.  However, by allowing them to succeed in the future birthed in their heart, my legacy is that they are the success.

As we talk with our kids, the picture of their future changes – sometimes daily.  This is expected.  They are young.  Yet, in every idea they present, there is consistency which reveals their creative DNA.  They are not of the age to decide the path, yet their consistencies allow us to consider how to prepare them for the eventual path they will take.  For them, it involves artistry and creativity, both physically and emotionally.  So we expose them to the arts.  Artists tend to starve, so we expose them to business so that as they develop their creative skills, they will manage them effectively.  Their gifts and passions could lead them into dedicated full-time ministry in church as in the manner of their parents.  Or, they could enter the world in a different sphere as actors, artists or musicians, and reach a people that would never be open to hearing what I have to say as a pastor.  Their success will be determined by the kingdom fruit they produce in whatever they do.

Ask God to demonstrate your kids to you in a different light.  Ask Him to help you see and discover the future that is waiting to be created in their heart.  Ask Him to show you the best way to lead them to the place of success in that future.  They WILL succeed!

Thanksgiving

One of the great beauties of this day is that it was forged by men and women who put everything on the line to create a better life – not only for themselves but for their children and grandchildren. 

In this day and age, there is a lot of controversy over many of the days that we celebrate.  Christmas is offensive because it celebrates the birth of Christ.  Easter - because we focus on His resurrection.  Men fight against prayer and the Ten Commandments, only to discover that their elimination has added to the chaos that now ensues in our schools and society.

Every decision you make has an outcome – on you, on your children, and on the society that is being formed for your grandchildren.  The early settlers figured this out.  They came to this country looking for a better life.  They made numerous mistakes along the way.  They initially tried to establish their settlements as “common property” wherein everyone was laboring for a common fund and each person would receive an equal share of what was grown.  They soon discovered that such a life – later known as socialism – produced an acute lack of effort on the part of many.  The mindset developed among many that curtailed the incentive to produce their best.  Men could not embrace the idea that they must work for others who would not work as diligently for themselves.

Something had to be done.  Property was divided and men began to practice trade.  It changed the game for the early settlers.  They labored with far greater diligence because they were now set to provide for not only themselves, but for their future generations.

Future generations.  That was the key.  Our forefathers built everything they did with a [picture of the future in mind.  It is a Biblical principle.  “This will be to your children, to your children’s children and to their children.”  The bible often referenced to the third and fourth generation.

It also taught the benefits of apprenticeship.  Parents taught their children early and help to launch them into adulthood and into commerce or trade early.  It insured that their children (now adults) could have their best opportunity to produce when they were at the peak of their adult strength.  It insured that their adult children would have ample opportunity through their labor to provide for the later seasons in their own life as well as an inheritance for their children.  And it afforded the greatest opportunity for a proper work ethic to be passed down through the generations.

When one is unable to launch in season his hopes are “put off” until later seasons.  In short, his hopes are deferred.  The Bible teaches that hope deferred makes the heart sick.  The delay created in launching the next generation in proper season makes for a sick hearts.  It damages the ability to move ahead with the greatest strength.  It hinders relationships.  It colors the past and damages the future.

Today, as I consider my own ancestry, I am thankful that there was a determination on the part of my forefathers to challenge their sons.  I am thankful that a large part of their vision was to make certain that the future generations would launch in season.  I am thankful that they understood what God demonstrated in His word regarding future generations.  And I am thankful for the great personal sacrifice they made to offer the best possible future for my life.

t 

Succession and Legacy

Success requires having the ability to understand the process of succession.  Meaning, no one lives forever; or for that matter, functions well forever.  Great race car drivers eventually hand the car to someone younger and with quicker reflexes.  Businesses that flourish for years often reach decline and failure because of the leaders inability to release what they have built into the hand of the next generation.  The next generation brings new strength and insight to the table.  It brings a “hands on” understanding of the current generation of consumers or congregants.

Living in a pastor’s home, I understand the sentiment of a lot of pastors – a sentiment held by one of the most powerfully anointed ministers on the planet – my grandfather.  His wish was to labor as a pastor and die preaching in the pulpit, after being completely poured out.  My dad wisely communicated that he should reconsider a different way to finish, because while it sounds heroic, it would probably bring great damage to those sitting in the congregation in that moment.

Pastors and many “mom and pop” entrepreneurs carry the mindset that to quit is to give up.  They have no plan for a future and no thought as to what will happen to the work they have accomplished once they are gone.

The Bible invests a great deal of communication about generational succession.  God identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  His eye focused on the generations of the seed of Abraham and the development of His children, Israel.  You can see the dangers of ignoring proper succession in the lives of Eli and his sons, Samuel, the judge, who did not properly prepare and release his sons, Saul, who was chosen because of the people being frustrated with Samuel’s situation and David, who repeated much of the shortcomings of Samuel in his own children.

Failure to plan for succession is incredibly detrimental to the generation of sons and daughters who follow you and also to the work that you may have spent a lifetime working to build.  Pass the baton too late and the generation lives their entire life out of season.  The energy and drive they could bring to the work is diminished before it is started.  Instead of increase, it begins to decline, or worse "stalemates" and becomes an entity that exists, but remains powerless.  God's desire is advancement of the kingdom and that requires succession. If you pay attention to God’s plan, you will see His plan always taking into consideration the generations to come.  “This will be to your children, their children and and so on…”

In planning anything, you should take into consideration the third generation.  Every action you take, everything you build, everything you invest of your life and into your destiny should consider the generations beyond you…to the third power.  It is the way you build legacy, which is also a godly principle.

I will blog more on this and in much greater detail.  For now, I just want to invoke some thoughts about your future and your destiny. 

What will you do when you are no longer doing what you do right now?

What will become of the work you are dong?

What are you building that will honesty be able to be carried by the next generation?

What provision have you made which will allow the next generation to operate and function NOW, while they are in their prime?

What consideration have you taken with regard to you future beyond what you are doing right now so that you will be able to release what you are doing at the right time, rather than just the “necessary” time.  (A lot of people would make a change now if they could afford to.)

Destiny does not just occur.  Legacy does not simply “happen”.  Both are something that God placed in your life as your responsibility.  They become what you make them through His wisdom and the power of His Holy Spirit.

Consider what you are building.  Consider what you are creating for the future generations in your life.  It will make the difference in what you really do for the Kingdom!

T