Michael's Notes - Thoughts On Worship, Leadership & Fitness

It's Okay To Take Care of Yourself

“If you don’t care for yourself you can’t do anything else.” Michael Hyatt

 

That statement was made by Michael Hyatt at a luncheon sponsored by Backstage Leadership during Catalyst 09. The question posed that received the above as a response was: “Michael do you have a set of personal core values that are the foundation for how you live your life and then in turn help you set goals for your business life?”

 

Michael began to explain that he had posted some of this information in a previous post on his blog but the basics were:  Put God first, yourself second, then spouse and family, and finally everything else. 

 

It might seem odd to think of putting yourself above your spouse or your family; however, I totally understand and agree with his philosophy. I believe that God expects us to take care of ourselves, to become the best vessel for Him. I often hear persons in my line of work say: ‘if I take care of the spiritual and mental side of my life, God will take care of the rest.’ There is something terribly wrong with that statement. Our body, our total being, is a gift from God; therefore, we are responsible for the stewardship of this gift.

 

To be an effective leader we must first be healthy: spiritually, mentally and physically. To be effective at anything we must be healthy…totally healthy.

 

Do you take of yourself?

 

Related Posts:

Followers of Christ for as Long as We Can

Setting a Fitness Plan for the Week

Fitness An Act of Worship

What are you dreaming?

We often dream about the future, well at least I do. I guess it has to do with my personality. Ask my assistant and she will tell you I don’t sit behind my desk for any long length of time. I have to get up and move, move on to the next thing or just get up and see what is going on.  The same is true with life in general; I am always dreaming about what is next.

 

It is okay to dream and in fact God let’s us in on stories of some great dreamers in His story the Bible.

 

One prayer that has been stuck in my head the last few weeks is: God let my dreams (desires) be Your dreams (desires.) Does God see what I am dreaming about today or the tomorrows and say: ‘that’s not quite what I want Michael’ or can He say ‘yes that’s it, that’s where I want you to go.’ In 2 Chronicles chapter 6 we find this statement from God about David, a dreamer: ‘…you have done well to have this desire.’ Now that is a pretty cool statement. In the story of my life will God be able to write a few words and include that statement. I sure hope so.

 

So what should we be dreaming about?

 

Here is a statement I heard many years ago: ‘finding God’s will for you life is not a place you arrive to, but the act of searching continually for His will.’ In the context of what I have written today that means that it is okay to dream, but I must search God’s heart and dream His dreams.

 

Isn’t it funny how God can take something that we have done over and over again and change it to help us refocus on His desires. Just recently He has been using the short prayer I mentioned earlier along with the words from the song Hosanna by Brooke Fraser:

 

Heal my heart and make it clean

Open up my eyes to the things unseen

Show me how to love like You have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks Yours

Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause

As I walk from earth into eternity

               

That’s what I want to dream, that’s what I want to be: everything I am for Your Kingdom’s cause…whatever that may be…so I keep dreaming.

A Comparison God and You

There is a great glimpse of worship found in the book of Isaiah Chapter 6 verses 1 – 8.  The passage is an example of a conversation of worship where God is seen and then the worshipper responds. 

 

In worship services today we use songs and scriptures to see a picture of God. When we look close at His attributes and then look to ourselves for comparison there really is none. Or the comparison is so far at opposite ends of the spectrum that it is hard to compare.  That is exactly the response of the writer of Isaiah 6; he sees a vision of the Lord, Majestic and holy, and then cries out ‘woe is me.’

 

In the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis I found the following statement:

 

In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that – and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison – you do not know God at all. 

 

It is hard to imagine that God who is immeasurable invites us to be a part of His family.

 

It is hard to imagine that God, who is holy, invites us to stand in His presence and worship.

 

He made it so by a gift of love…His Son.

Catalyst 09: two amazing videos

This was my first year to attend the Catalyst conference and hopefully it will not be my last. The two days were packed with challenging presentations given by some of today's successful leaders from both business, religious and non-profit organizations.  I will have more to say about these presentations in future posts.

Today I want to give you links to two events that took place at Catalyst 09. These events are polar opposites and evoke totally opposite responses.

The first video is of Professor Splash as he sets a new world record for diving into 12 inches of water.

Professor Splash Breaks World Record! 

The second video is even more impressive as we all got to witness Jimmy Wambua a student at Moody Bible College from Kenya meeting for the first time the person who was his Compassion sponsor.

Catalyst Compassion Moment

Social Networking A Reality for Personal Accountability.

Most of us have heard it said one time or the other ‘you never have to worry about being caught in a lie if you always tell the truth.’ In these times of social networking that becomes even truer.  As we use Social Networking tools we become fully exposed. The caution is not with what we personally post but what those who may witness our actions or hear our words may post. This change in how our society interacts becomes another tool for Personal Accountability. So the old saying could be changed for these times to read: “if you have nothing to hide then it won’t get uploaded.”

Preparing for Worship: the still small Voice

Saturdays are just one day away from Sunday worship services; however, we will be no closer to God tomorrow than any other day of the week.  What we often forget is that Sunday worship services are a time when believers join together in worship but they are not the only day of worship.  If we have a relationship with God then each personal act can become an action of worship.

 

A part of the conversation of worship is the willingness to listen to ‘the still small voice’ that whispers in our ear everyday. As with any conversation, including the conversation of worship there are moments of verbalizing our thoughts and then there are those moments when we listen. I find that it is much easier to speak to God than listen to God. I also find that the more time I give to active listening to God the more accustomed I become to his voice. A. W. Tozer wrote in God's Pursuit of Man:

 

“We may be sure of one thing, that for our deep trouble there is no cure apart from a visitation, yes, an invasion of power from above. Only the Spirit Himself can show us what is wrong with us and only the Spirit can prescribe the cure.”

 

Listening to the Spirit is something I must actively practice. The more I am willing to listen, the more I am willing to act on what ‘the still small voice’ is saying.

 

I ask myself this question: “how often do I ignore the voice of the Lord?” More that I should…but I am working on it.

Preparing for Worship: Am I too Comfortable?

It is Saturday again and in just a few more hours many will gather in buildings around this country for worship services.

 

I have to admit I live a very comfortable life. God has graciously provided for my needs and a multitude of my wants. The same can be said for most Americans. A quick inventory reveals we have much more than the majority of the Earth’s population.

 

With that said I raise the question: does our comfortable lifestyle and things make it hard for us to cry out to God in worship?

 

In the book The Hole In Our Gospel, the author Richard Stearns, president of World Vision describes an African church:

·         A small congregation of fifty that meets under a large shade tree because they have no building.

·         They work the land to provide the food they need to survive.

·         They rely on God for every mouthful.

·         They have endured two decades of civil war, every family has suffered loss

·         Clean water is not available

·         Most live on barely a dollar a day.

 

In the midst of this hardship the author goes on to describe their worship:

·         There is great joy in their worship as these people cry out to the Lord and feel His comfort in the midst of their need.

·         This small community comes together to worship and to celebrate the gospel.

 

As Americans what will be our attitude as we enter places of worship tomorrow? More importantly what will be my attitude?  Am I truly grateful for the reality of a relationship with the One who has forgiven me? Am I so comfortable with my life that I minimize the gift of grace?

 

God help me that I don’t become too comfortable with the things you have provided to loose sight of the salvation You have given by Your sacrifice.

Preparing for Worship, what do you do to get ready?

I often wonder what the people, in the congregation where I serve, do to get ready for church. Growing up in a pastor’s home Sunday was a big deal, nothing kept us from church and not just once but two times on Sunday. As part of the preparation we laid out the ‘church clothes’ the night before; if the shoes needed polishing we did so; we went to bed early and most Saturday nights mom started preparing for Sunday dinner (lunch). I also remember my dad spending time in his bedroom or office going over his notes for the sermon he would deliver the next day. We were preparing to go to church.

Those are great memories but that is not the preparation that I am talking about.

Do people who attend worship services on Sundays come to worship prepared to meet God in a conversation of worship? Or is it just something they do to make them feel better and push the guilt aside for a few more days?

It is hard for me to start a meaningful conversation with anyone who I don’t know, who I haven’t had previous conversations. But it is much easier when I know the person.

The only way I know to prepare for the worship services on Sunday is having a conversation with God on a daily basis. Being in any type of relationship implies that there is this on-going conversation taking place where words are exchanged and actions noticed.

How do you prepare for church on Sunday? There is no better time to start than now!

Forgiveness, who deserves it?

In yesterday’s paper a headline read: “Michael Vick is a dog killer and doesn't deserve forgiveness” and the article ended with this statement: “I’m sorry, but there are some crimes that warrant no forgiveness.”

 

I was shocked and saddened by those two statements. Not because I think that Michael Vick was wrongly convicted, but because I believe in forgiveness. Granted there are consequences to any action and some actions warrant and deserve punishment. However I stand today as one who has been forgiven and because I am I have the obligation to forgive.

 

Do people choose not to forgive because they have not experienced true forgiveness?

Christ Follower + Worship + Leader Part 4

A great majority of who I am can be summed up in the words of the title of this post. Here is part four of an article that was published in the latest edition of Creator Magazine. This section lays out some of my thoughts about being a leader of people both staff and ministry volunteers.

Leading People

 

When you separate the term ‘Worship Leader’ you do end up with two words, one that is hopefully focused fully on God and the other on people.

 

Over the past few years I have been made keenly aware of how much of my job is not about performance but about leading others.  That is almost strange for a musician to state.

 

I have said for many years that when I come to the end of my career I would love for people to be able to say:

1. he was faithful to a call on his life by God

2. he performed the tasks of his job with integrity

 

If those two statements are made then I have been successful and I have been accountable to both God and the people around me.

 

I am aware more now than ever before that the major responsibility of any minister is not the task but the people. Putting performance before people…that was me…I stand guilty. Too often I sacrificed the people instead of pointing the people toward the ultimate sacrifice.

 

One of the greatest leaders recorded in scripture is King David. It was only through his journey to the throne that led him to be a good leader. His training to be a leader came from leading sheep; an animal with little brain power, a big smell, the innate ability to run from danger unless led by a strong shepherd. It is scary to think that we as followers of Christ are often referred to as sheep. What does that say about us or the people we are trying to lead? It is clear, just something we don’t think about in the terms just described.

 

I look back over my years in ministry and realize the events I have witnessed and been a part of have been preparing me for where I am today. The greatest challenge and blessing in my ministry now is the people I serve with and lead.

 

Have you ever caught yourself saying:  “I wish my boss was more like...” “I wish he wouldn’t talk to us that way.” “I wish…(you fill in the blank.) Today I reverse that question and ask “what are the people I lead saying about me?”  Then I ask “what do I want them to say?”

 

Recently I invested in some leadership training by engaging the services of a “Job Coach.” The purpose was to help me evaluate my leadership skills and find ways to improve on them.  I enjoyed the process and gained some helpful information about leading people. One of the tasks that the ‘Job Coach’ asked me to complete was to write out a list of leadership behaviors that I want to model for my team.  Here is the list:

1. Good planning: see the big picture and be prepared
2. Open communication: often and honestly, the big picture and the details
3. Dependability: I will be there, I will do my job, I will support them
4. Accept Instruction: always willing to learn from others
5. Invest in others: take time for others
6. Seek God: no other way to find wisdom and strength
7. Know my leader: do I know where he is going, are we on the same page?

 

Each person who is involved in ministry has answered a call. Somewhere, sometime you said yes to an invitation to serve. What keeps your ministry on track? And…what are the words that describe your role in life or in ministry? For me: Christ Follower + Worship + Leader.