Today, I begin a crazy journey around the world. I’ll be in Tokyo, Thailand and Australia before returning back to the States. Please pray for safe travel over the next 12 days. Can’t wait to see what God does.

What has amazed me about the oil spill has been church leaders’ criticism of BP’s leadership through a crisis – particularly on Twitter. Honestly, the churches response to the culture seems a lot like BP’s response to the oil spill. Think about this:

• BP has been seen as slow to react. The church has been much slower to react, holding on to out of date methods while forsaking it’s incredible Message of Christ.
  
• BP knew there were problems and failed to respond. The church has known they have problems for years and has done nothing about it.
• BP’s president said he was “out of the loop on decisions.” Church leaders have continued to “be out of the loop” and blamed it on the unwillingness of people to change or the control of denominations.
  

The major difference between the church and BP – BP’s president apologized, saying, “I am so devastated with this accident…deeply sorry…so distraught” while the church continues to prove their lack of care for the culture by modeling a lack of unity and no desire to reach people in new ways.

Did BP make mistakes? Probably more than we will ever know. Has their response been slow? Maybe so.

But what about the church? Why are we as church leaders so quick to point fingers instead of focusing on our own problems?

I’ve noticed lately that I talk to myself a lot. It all happens internally, but it involves decisions that I am making, motivation to accomplish something or how I want the future to look for our family. Sometimes it happens in response to the Holy Spirit’s prompting and other times it happens as I consider the natural course of life. Today, I noticed some things about my self-talk.

• It’s normally very positive about life’s situations.
• The talk says that I can accomplish anything.
• It has tons of faith in it – particularly in spiritual areas about our family.

But I realized something – sometimes my natural conversations don’t always relay the same messages of my self-talk. My normal speech isn’t always as optimistic or filled with faith.

I want that to change.

What is the difference between what you say to yourself and what you say to others? Maybe what you are saying to yourself needs to change. Or, maybe what you are saying to others.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Best Father’s Day present I’ve ever received!

Now, let’s state the obvious: everyone is busy. Everyone has a little more on their plate than they should.

So, what do we do about the problem? I’d like to propose some answers.

• Everyone wants to talk to the most successful people. Obviously, their are some people who may be too busy to field a phone call. Instead of asking others to read your blog or just not responding, how about providing a list of others who have seen great success in their roles and may be more helpful because they are more like the ministry or person seeking advice? It takes time, but it is helpful in the Kingdom. Churches really are in desperate need for help. Instead of, “Just read my blog,” lets say, “Can I introduce you to….”

• Make your minimum response a list of resources. Everyone has resources that they have used, books that they have read or conferences they have attended that have helped them. Why not take a few minutes, compile that information, and have it available to send out. Instead of, “Just read my blog,” lets say, “Let me send you a list of resources that were helpful to me.”

• Do your best to respond to all messages. At this point, I will give anyone a 30-minute phone call. I prefer that over answering questions via email. After the initial call, I normally send a follow-up email with resources or point the person in a different direction that will be more helpful. Even one of the busiest guys, Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson, has replied to every email I have sent to him. Thanks Michael. Instead of replying, “Just read my blog,” lets say, “I can give you __-minutes on the phone.”

Church leaders need more help today than ever before. If God has blessed you with the ability to help, lend a personal hand. Touch the people who reach out to you. It will make a difference in their lives and in His Kingdom.

As parents, we often believe that we’re not normal. We believe that everyone else has it figured out – that their kids never have meltdowns or cry and wail why walking out of Target. But, we’ve all experienced it at some point. We’ve all walked through the tears of leaving the toy aisle or the McDonald’s drive-thru.

The problem: we’re not transparent enough to tell the stories and learn from others. We try to put on the front that everything is perfect – that we have it all together.

So, if you have kids, share a story of a parenting failure with someone today. Help them realize that they are normal and when they share their story, you will realize you’re probably normal as well.

THAT. WAS. WRONG.

They’re your kids. God entrusted them to you. God commanded you to teach them and train them for his purposes. Look back at Deuteronomy 6:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (4-9, NIV)

Look at the strength of the word that he used. “Impress” them on your children when you sit or walk, lay down or get up. Bottom line: Your life is about teaching Your kids about God and His ways. It’s not about…

• Your career.
• Your retirement.
• Your leisure.
• Your friends.
• Your fun.

The church can help. The church can partner with you. The church can direct you to resources. But, the job is yours.

Your kids could change the world. Your kids could play a major role in impacting our culture for Christ. And your kids need your help to know Him and live for Him.

They’re your kids. Will you help them?

• 1/3 of the time is spent showing them I love them.
• 1/3 of the time is spent training them to be like Christ.
• 1.3 of the time is spent praying and begging God that they will honor Him with their lives.

These thirds just become the natural part of our time and days together. It’s not something that I spend hours planning for – it’s just what happens. And, most of the time I find myself praying and begging God in the quiet moments that I look at them in the rear view mirror or as they look into my eyes.

How do you spend the time that you have with your kiddos?

In this debate, most people turn to 1 Chronicles 21 and the story of David taking a census of the people when God told him not to do it. But, why do we neglect all of the places where numbers where recorded as a good or neutral thing. Think about a few:

• The book of Numbers or any other census God commanded in Scripture.
• Was Jesus wrong to have counted the 5,000 & 4,000 (plus women and children) when he miraculously fed people? (Did Jesus really have to count or did He just “know”?) Was He solely focused on the number, or did the number mean something about impact?
• Was Peter wrong to have counted in Acts 1:15 (120 people were present in a meeting) and in 2:41 when 3,000 were saved? Was he solely focused on how great of a speaker he was and the response he could illicit?
• [Insert your own count passage here]

Of course they were not wrong. Numbers have a purpose but they are not the purpose. They CAN BE an expression of good or bad things in the ministry and they can be focused on with impure motives.

Instead of focusing on some people who may have numbers as their “god”, could we focus on how to increase the impact of the church in the culture to reach more people?

Remember, Jesus and Peter counted (or likely knew the count).

Zoar Baptist Church

So, here are some of the things that hit me today that my kiddos will never know as a part of the church that I knew:

• They will never hear an offertory song (lucky dogs)
• They will never attend church training, youth choir or Sunday night church
• They will likely never attend a business meeting, much less a monthly one
• They will never vote on a budget
• They will never attend “dinner on the grounds”
• They will never hear about “the” deacons meeting (we do not have deacons or their meetings)
• They will never tithe with a check
• They will never sing from a Hymnal
• They will never wonder why the pastors sit in special chairs on the stage
• They will never know a time without multiple worship services
• They will never see a choir robe
• They will think that Saturday night is a “normal” church service time

My kiddos attend a church that I always dreamed of but never thought I would be a part of. I’m not knocking any church – some are just very different than the church my kids attend.

What are the differences that you remember about church you grew up in and the church you attend today?