Good leaders can be hard to find.

Good leaders can be hard to find. So, when you come across them, you better be ready to show proper appreciation and respect for who they are and what they bring to the table. I know a good thing when I see it. I am very blessed to be surrounded with some incredible leaders in our fellowship at Ridgeview. There are men and women from a range of backgrounds who truly have a heart for God and want to see Ridgeview become all that God has destined it to be. They are one very LARGE reason why Ridgeview is what she is today...and what she will be tomorrow.

Yesterday I read this great quote:
You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.

Being part of a church plant is not easy. In fact, many have fallen away from the vision as this church has continued to move forward. Their reasons have varied: too much accountability (that's an interesting one--deserves a blog all to itself), not growing fast enough, growing too fast, no children's choirs, no _________ (fill in the blank).

Now, take the courage required to move "away from the shore" and multiply it times five when you choose to lead in that setting. You take on the vision and future of a group of people and say, "Hey, follow me. I don't know what waits along this journey but I can promise you that the end destination will be well worth the trip."

So "thank you" to all the leaders at Ridgeview--staff, leadership team, and servant leaders. Thank you for having the vision and courage to discover new oceans. The journey may get rough sometimes but no one who has ever waded in new waters ever regretted the journey. I love you and am thankful to be serving alongside of each of you.

Tom Brokaw called them "The greatest generation."

Tom Brokaw called them "the greatest generation." It was a reference to the men and women who survived the Great Depression and went on to fight in the largest conflict planet Earth has seen to this point. They were men and women just like you and me who understood the value of freedom and that those freedoms should not just be guaranteed for Americans, but for all who were under the tyranny of Hitler, Hirohito and Mussolini. So, they left the farms, the factories and their families to take on the threats that faced the world. They were selfless, ambitious, young and a little bit crazy. But they loved America and were willing to do anything to insure that her light continued to shine brightly for the generations that followed.

Flash forward 60 plus years. It's a completely different culture we live in. One that quite literally confuses the minds of those from that great generation who are still living. It's a world where we scream about rights but refuse to acknowledge that those rights do not come without sacrifice. They do not come without a willingness to take responsibility. We are raising generation after generation of people who just don't know what liberty means...or at what cost it comes.

We have young adults who will herald a Hollywood "star" because they speak up about some issue. These same young adults refuse to support the troops who live and die so that star can speak without fear. Our kids believe that this world revolves around them and their comforts. They confuse wants with needs and rights with privileges. They don't understand the value of a life lived well--one that chooses to live for others rather than for themselves.

No one knows what the future of this nation really holds. I can tell you this. The longer we live believing that we deserve everything without it costing us anything, the more dangerous our culture becomes. The more we believe that it is the responsibility of a government to do what only individuals should do for themselves, the greater the likelihood that we will find ourselves slipping into the apathetic morass that was Nazi Germany. I believe our fathers and grandfathers deserve more. They were the ones who stormed the shores at Normandy. They flew the B-52s that silenced the guns of the Empire of Japan. They bled on the shores of Sicily, Dunkirk, and Iwo Jima. They led the offensive at Tet, stood in the face of communism and are guarding the barren sands of Afghanistan and Iraq. This Veteran's Day, their blood cries out, "Will you remember the Alamo, Pearl Harbor, Vietnam and the Twin Towers?"

May we never forget that freedom comes with a price and that price is too high to sacrifice our liberties for comfort, for convenience or because we no longer care enough to carry the banner.

On this Veteran's Day, I want to say "thank you" to every young man and woman who has ever proudly worn the uniform of the United States of America. Whether it was peace time or war, your sacrifices are what has made us great. May we always remember the cost of freedom...

My wife, Lisa, has lots of little quotes and phrases she likes to use.

My wife, Lisa, has lots of little quotes and phrases she likes to use. I think I've written on this blog before about her reference to the Devil as "hairy butt Satan." That's one of my personal favorites. This morning, I found myself reading a passage of Scripture that serves as the origin of one of her others. Here it is:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor....to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Isaiah 61:1,3 NIV

Lisa likes to use that phrase...a lot. "Beauty from ashes," she will say as she works to encourage a friend or a woman who is going through a difficult time. Of course, what she is referring to is the Lord's ability--not to mention His willingness--to take what appears to be a lost cause and make it worthwhile. God loves to show His favor by taking the wrong and correcting it and by taking our sadness and filling us with joy.

As I was reflecting on that passage this morning, I wondered aloud to myself, "Who wouldn't want that?" Seriously, think about that. Why would anyone not desire beauty over ashes, gladness over mourning and praise over despair? I think the answer is obvious. But many days, we choose the opposite. We choose to listen to an enemy--er, hairy butt Satan--as he whispers words of defeat and despair in our ears. And, if he does it to those of us who are Christ followers, how much more must he do it to those who do not know God? Satan uses accusations and his venomous lies to keep us down and defeated.

Lift up your eyes, the Scriptures tell us. He has turned our mourning into dancing. Now, we have the incredible privilege of sharing this message of hope with those whose lives are filled with nothing but ashes. Our God is a God of joy. Don't let them live one more day without knowing it:

Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land and everlasting joy will be theirs. Isaiah 6:7 NIV

What might have been?

What might have been? Those are some of the most haunting thoughts that an individual can have. What might have been if only this had not happened? What might have been if I had chosen more wisely? What might have been if I had not listened to them? You know the feeling--it's a sinking one. We use that 20/20 hindsight to discover that the path we chose was neither wise nor profitable. God was not honored and now we are left with the pieces of...well, you know. You've been there. Maybe you're still there.

It happened to many of the well known heroes of Scripture. I'm thinking specifically of Samson today. Samson was destined for greatness from birth. He would deliver the Israelites from their long time nemesis--the Philistines. He would be God's man for this period in Israelite history. Oh, what might have been.

Then you get to five of the most disappointing words in Scripture at the end of Judges 16:19: ...And his strength left him.

All the promises and blessings are gone because Samson chose to listen to Delilah rather than to God. Every dream he had, every vision he longed to fulfill, was ripped away in the moment that he chose wrongly. But just as it is with all of us who have fallen, Samson is reminded of the grace of God. He's in prison at the hands of his captors. Eyes are gouged out and he's put to work grinding in a prison. It's there that we see the evidence of a God who restores (even those who have fallen so far). Verse 22 of that same chapter says, "But the hair on his head began to grow again..."

Isn't that cool? God's disappointment doesn't last forever. Yes, Samson had failed. He had chosen wrongly. So there had to be consequences. God had to teach his child that such mistakes wouldn't work. But God initiated grace...he caused Samson's hair (the sign of God's presence in his life NOT the source of his strength. God was the source) to grow. It was the original hair club for men. Only this one wasn't to attract ladies or make Samson feel better about himself. It was a sign that God would not forget Samson. He would restore him and allow him to finish his assignment. It was a reminder that you can never fall so far that God cannot find you.

Sounds good, huh? The promises of God restored to those of us who fail. The promise that he will never leave us where we are. He loves us too much. Choose rightly. Choose grace...then watch as the power is restored to your life. The hair will begin to grow again...and you will know God's presence again.

This is good stuff. I wish I had written it.

This is good stuff. I wish I had written it. But it comes from a friend of mine.

"Did you know that Jesus was invited to parties? Jesus influenced the lives of other by 'doing life' with people. As part of our training, we are being challenged to develop our ministry strategy. We are learning to go where people are and share Christ's love with them within their own groups. We are praying that small Bible study groups/churches will emerge from these groups. God is transforming our traditional thoughts on church and ministry."

Here's the interesting thing. If you've been at Ridgeview or around me for any length of time, you've heard us talk about these very same things. Doing life together. Re-thinking our strategies for sharing Jesus with the lost. Transforming our thoughts. But, get this. This isn't a friend in Nashville or at a large church in a metro area. These are friends of mine who are missionaries in Poland.

The reason this is so interesting to me is that the "strategy" is a timeless one and breaks across all borders and barriers. It's the way that Jesus shared His love with others and the way that we should be doing the same. We do this by learning to love people where they are. We accomplish it by getting away from this idea that we are coming to rescue those in need when, in reality, we are just hungry people showing others where to find the bread. We are NOT the rescuers. We are the rescued who are pointing the way. It's not about who is right or wrong, who is left or right-wing, or who is Democrat or Republican. In our "rightness" we can be so wrong that the love of Christ is never conveyed to the ones who do not know Him.

Here's my challenge to you, Christ follower. Are you really ready to be like Christ? Do you really desire to see others transformed and rescued? Change your mentality from "us" v. "them" to all of "us" needing "Him" and see how that perspective enables you to carry out the Great Commission.