Tonight I'll have that cool feeling of sleeping in a new place for the first time. I never sleep very well when that happens because I'm getting used to new sounds in the house. Of course, maybe I'll sleep well because I'll be so exhausted from the move (I'm not as young as I used to be). At any rate, I guess I'm tired of speculating about how this experience is going to turn out. I'm ready to live it out. Homewood here we come!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Moving Day
Today's the big day! We're closing at around 1pm, and we'll start moving in right after we sign the papers. I know I'll have a lot to write about in July due to this move and the trip to Costa Rica and Mexico City.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Farming, Hiking, Hosting, and Moving
Today was the start of a big weekend. We took a bunch of kids to a farm and another group of kids to hiking at Ohiopyle. They had a blast!
On Sunday I get to host in the Worship Cafe again. I had a lot of fun last weekend connecting with people, and I'm really looking forward to another opportunity. It really is an amazing community of people.
Also, the moving date is upon us! We're loading up Sunday at 3:30pm. We'll be keeping our stuff in a truck until Tuesday, at which point we'll be unloading in Homewood after our home closes at noon. We welcome all help with the move, and we are feeling the love from people who are praying for us. Thanks!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Fatherhood
I have really enjoyed celebrating father's day with my family today. I am truly blessed with a great family, including my wife and children and my own parents and in-laws. We have had an awesome day together.
Fatherhood is a great responsibility. As men, we have the opportunity to do great good or great harm to our families. We all leave a legacy, and it is ultimately up to us as fathers to determine if it will be one filled with love and positive engagement or irresponsibility and distance (physical or emotional). Many men are caught up in day to day busyness which hinders them from seeing the broader view of their importance and impact as fathers. My prayer is that fathers would be able to connect with their children, and that in the absence of fathers, other men would be able to step in to families as positive role models. This is one of the reasons I am so passionate about the need for mentoring in communities where family structures have broken down. Masculinity bestows masculinity, and fatherhood is important to a healthy society.
Fatherhood is a great responsibility. As men, we have the opportunity to do great good or great harm to our families. We all leave a legacy, and it is ultimately up to us as fathers to determine if it will be one filled with love and positive engagement or irresponsibility and distance (physical or emotional). Many men are caught up in day to day busyness which hinders them from seeing the broader view of their importance and impact as fathers. My prayer is that fathers would be able to connect with their children, and that in the absence of fathers, other men would be able to step in to families as positive role models. This is one of the reasons I am so passionate about the need for mentoring in communities where family structures have broken down. Masculinity bestows masculinity, and fatherhood is important to a healthy society.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Eight Transformational Leadership Principles
This morning I heard Dr. Bruce Bickel speak at the Serving Leaders breakfast sponsored by Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation. He spoke about eight traits associated with transformational leadership. They are:
1. Be a follower (charisma and personality only take leaders so far... it's really about who or what you represent that matters. We should be followers of Jesus.)
2. Be a finisher (responsibility is knowing and doing what's expected of you)
3. Be focused (dependability is doing what you say even with unexpected sacrifice)
4. Become your own reward system (thoroughness is completing tasks independently)
5. Become your word (trust is doing what you say)
6. Build double loyalty (use difficult times to demonstrate your commitment to others and what is right. Loyalty is double because we are responsible to those people in authority over us and we are ultimately responsible to God)
7. Manage your fears (courage is important because leaders cannot run away from fears)
8. Choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong (boldness requires an understanding of the long range vision of the sovereignty of God who has the ultimate victory)
He concluded with the thought that the world reacts with either praise or persecution to effective transformational leadership. We cannot control either reaction, so it is important that as leaders we "be" these qualities before we "do" anything.
1. Be a follower (charisma and personality only take leaders so far... it's really about who or what you represent that matters. We should be followers of Jesus.)
2. Be a finisher (responsibility is knowing and doing what's expected of you)
3. Be focused (dependability is doing what you say even with unexpected sacrifice)
4. Become your own reward system (thoroughness is completing tasks independently)
5. Become your word (trust is doing what you say)
6. Build double loyalty (use difficult times to demonstrate your commitment to others and what is right. Loyalty is double because we are responsible to those people in authority over us and we are ultimately responsible to God)
7. Manage your fears (courage is important because leaders cannot run away from fears)
8. Choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong (boldness requires an understanding of the long range vision of the sovereignty of God who has the ultimate victory)
He concluded with the thought that the world reacts with either praise or persecution to effective transformational leadership. We cannot control either reaction, so it is important that as leaders we "be" these qualities before we "do" anything.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A Full Day
I had a full day today, but with some really cool experiences. This morning I had the opportunity to share about our move to the city with our staff at North Way. They were all incredibly supportive, and they prayed for us as we head into the move. I really enjoy these brothers and sisters in Christ whom I have had the opportunity to get to know over the past few years that I have been involved with LAMP. They are some amazing people, and I'm so appreciative of the friendships that I've developed.
I also spent most of the day with the two LAMP interns, Justin and Sarah. I love investing in young leaders (even though they are not much younger than me), and I am encouraged by their willingness to learn and grow. I am also learning a lot from them.
By this evening I was pretty wiped out. Julie had a meeting, and my buddy John stopped over to do some projects on the chalet property (that he and his family will be living in soon). He's such a great friend. We had some time to hang out on the back patio, and my dad and one of his friends stopped over to chat. It turned into a couple hours of deep conversation about creation and old earth and new earth theories related to Christianity. I mostly listened because I don't know too much about these subjects, but it all made for an interesting time all around. There's nothing like good times with good friends on a warm night.
Friday, June 5, 2009
A New Adventure!
I made a brief mention of this in my last blog post, but I figured I would provide some more details. We're planning to move to Homewood at the end of June. We've purchased a home close to the Faison Primary school, and the next couple of months will be an exciting time for Julie and I and the girls as we experience the ups and downs of incarnational urban ministry. Who knows what God has in store for our family?
We need your prayers and support! There will be many benefits to living in the community, but there will also be many challenges. We're planning to enroll the girls in school at Faison (although Sierra still has another year of preschool and we're trying to decide what options are available for her). Several people have asked me if we're planning to continue to go to church at North Way Wexford. That is our goal at this point because we feel so connected to the Worship Cafe community. I suppose that we may end up transitioning to North Way Oakland at some point, but we'll just have to see how things work out.
I'm really looking forward to this new adventure in the city. God loves the city, He loves Homewood, and He loves us. I am trusting God for guidance as I raise my family in the inner city, in the midst of the brokenness of the human story and broken systems. There are also many signs of hope in Homewood, and I'm looking forward to experiencing these things as well.
We need your prayers and support! There will be many benefits to living in the community, but there will also be many challenges. We're planning to enroll the girls in school at Faison (although Sierra still has another year of preschool and we're trying to decide what options are available for her). Several people have asked me if we're planning to continue to go to church at North Way Wexford. That is our goal at this point because we feel so connected to the Worship Cafe community. I suppose that we may end up transitioning to North Way Oakland at some point, but we'll just have to see how things work out.
I'm really looking forward to this new adventure in the city. God loves the city, He loves Homewood, and He loves us. I am trusting God for guidance as I raise my family in the inner city, in the midst of the brokenness of the human story and broken systems. There are also many signs of hope in Homewood, and I'm looking forward to experiencing these things as well.
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