Worship of Jesus/God is by far the highest and most important thing that we do. By that I do not just mean singing songs or attending services. That is really just a small part of it. As a matter of fact "singing" is not mentioned very often in the New Testament. What I mean by worship is orienting all of life towards glorifying Jesus Christ. His fame should be the motivating factor in our lives (family, work, church, leisure etc). Several years ago I wrote this definition of worship:
Valuing God above all things with all that we are by responding to all that He is in all that we do.
We value what what we love. We love what we hold dear. What we hold dear we deeply know and trust. So the question for us as followers of Jesus is what are we doing to make sure we are valuing, holding dear, deeply knowing and trusting Jesus? What I have learned about me is that the more I learn about Jesus the more I realize I don't know much at all about truly worshiping Him. He is so vast. So Big. So beautiful. So glorious. So mysterious. So much more than me.
I always need to grow in loving and worshipping Jesus.
Several years ago I started a new years tradition that helps me in my worship. It is called the 31 Day Journey. I learned this at a conference I was attending in 1997 and have done it every year since then. I have adjusted it a little over the years but the purpose remains, worship. Here it is: Set aside the month of January as a month to grow in your intimacy and worship of God. Here is what I do each day in the month in January.
1. Pray: Father teach me something new about You or remind me of something that You need me to remember.
2. Read and Listen: Begin reading in Psalm 1 and read slowly listening for God to say something about Him that you need to hear. You may read 2 verses or 5 chapters. It doesn't matter. But as soon as something stands out to you about God (ie. that He is strong, faithful, providing etc) stop.
3. Worship: Spend some time in prayer worshipping God for that part of Him. Take your time. Tell Him you love Him for that. Tell Him how you have seen that part of Him or how you need to see that part of Him.
4. Write: I know that not everyone journals but I recommend it. Take a moment to record what you saw in God's Word.
5. Remember: Think about this part of God during your day.
It is that simple. Do this every day for 31 days. It is quite probable that you will not get all the way through Psalms and that is ok. It is about God and knowing Him and worshipping Him.
The important thing to remember is that the worship of God is the most important thing you can do in 2012.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Disciple Making Definition
Loving others in such way that we are intentionally and relationally, teaching them to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ so that they will have the desire and ability to do the same.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Evaluating Leadership
Several months ago as I was walking in a somewhat discouraging season as a leader I spent some time trying to discern the right questions to help me evaluate my leadership at BCM. I came up with these 6 basic questions that I keep before me and go back to consistently. I am sure there are a bunch of other great questions out there, but I have found that theses help me evaluate my leadership.
Another thing I am doing with these questions is sharing them with those I am leading. I do that as a way to help them give me feedback. I really want our students to succeed and I know huge part of that flows from my faithful, clear, consistent, moldable, loving leadership.
Remember that for me, these questions all flow out of a simple vision at Clemson, “Cooperate with God in making multiplying disciples of Jesus at Clemson University.” But, whatever your context of leadership may be I hope they are helpful and make sense.
Leadership Questions
1) Is it clear where I am pursuing to lead us? Clear to me? Clear to those I am leading.
2) Are our vision/mission/goals easily understood in practical terms? Do those I am leading know what to do and why they are doing it?
3) Are my expectations clear and realistic as it relates to the leadership ability? Can they do what they need to do? Am I holding them accountable for what they need to do?
4) What are we producing? Is our fruit consistently moving closer to reflecting our long term vision?
5) Am I doing my best at what I do best? Do I know what that is? Am I ok with it?
6) Do I love them for who they are more than for what they do? Do I view them as brothers and sister or workers? How am I guarding against reducing them from people with souls to producers of goods?
Another thing I am doing with these questions is sharing them with those I am leading. I do that as a way to help them give me feedback. I really want our students to succeed and I know huge part of that flows from my faithful, clear, consistent, moldable, loving leadership.
Remember that for me, these questions all flow out of a simple vision at Clemson, “Cooperate with God in making multiplying disciples of Jesus at Clemson University.” But, whatever your context of leadership may be I hope they are helpful and make sense.
Leadership Questions
1) Is it clear where I am pursuing to lead us? Clear to me? Clear to those I am leading.
2) Are our vision/mission/goals easily understood in practical terms? Do those I am leading know what to do and why they are doing it?
3) Are my expectations clear and realistic as it relates to the leadership ability? Can they do what they need to do? Am I holding them accountable for what they need to do?
4) What are we producing? Is our fruit consistently moving closer to reflecting our long term vision?
5) Am I doing my best at what I do best? Do I know what that is? Am I ok with it?
6) Do I love them for who they are more than for what they do? Do I view them as brothers and sister or workers? How am I guarding against reducing them from people with souls to producers of goods?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)