I have been inspired to inspire

I read a quote today that hit me hard, and enabled me to look back on the year’s hardships in a positive light. Myra Shelley writes in her book, “The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham” That the Bible tells us that everyone alive is born into sorrow, as the sparks fly upward. Everyone experiences personal tragedies and inevitable grief, but leaders bear all these things along with the weight of knowing how much their decisions, attitudes, and actions affect others.”

I lost my son Elijah this year. It was the most devastating, stressful, faith-bending event I have gone through to date. This event happened on top of an already stressful year of medical challenges with my other son Isaac. Many people told me, “I don’t know how you are handling this, I would be falling apart by now.” My response was an honest, “I am handling this because I have to.” Simple as that.

When I gave the eulogy at my son’s funeral, I was looking into the faces of people looking for hope and inspiration, because all have pain and hardships, and wanted to know that they could face their situations as well. I could have folded under the pressure and rolled into a little ball, and said “I give up” in front of all those faces, or I could step up and let God strengthen me for the task at hand. The first option would have gotten me pity and sympathy, the other option could have inspired a few hundred people. I could have focused inward, or outward. Leaders focus outward first.

Last week a student took my wife aside and said, “When you first came to this church, I was at the lowest point of my life, I was depressed, and had been cutting myself. Watching the two of you trying so hard to be strong for everyone while going through the loss of your son was such an example and an inspiration to me. After seeing that I made a real commitment to God, and my life has turned around. Your faith showed me who God really is.” (paraphrase)

After hearing this, and reading the above comment, that leaders bear the weight of their tragedies and sorrow along with the weight of knowing that people are looking to you for inspiration, I felt a bit better.

Leadership, as I have learned, is a beautiful alchemy of personal pain and tragedy mixed with great character and initiative. Mary also writes later on, “When one believes that one’s actions are not random and meaningless, and even more important, that one’s actions influence eternal realities for longer than what happens in one’s brief life, it humbles and sobers the soul.”

Lesson of the day: Leadership requires a conscious choice to use your hardships to inspire others.

Christians scare me

Have you ever noticed that Christians can be the most prideful people on the planet? Funny, we are the ones who preach humility, deny your self and pick up your cross, be humble before God and all.

But when it comes to our interactions with the un-churched, we well up with the "I'm so right about everything" pride. Everything you do is wrong, everything you listen to or watch or drink or eat is wrong. Clean yourself and come to God. That seems to be the attitude of many Christians. Sounds familiar, from the New Testament, no not Jesus. Try the Pharisees. We all know how successful they were. Its not a very effective tool for evangelism.

Why do we get so offended when a sinner sins? What do you expect! They are called sinners for a reason. Jesus said that we would be a people that did not offend easy. We hear about a couple living together out of wedlock and we get so offended, or a teenager using drugs or sexually active. Are these actions wrong? Yep. What should we do about it? Love and speak God's truth to them. Forget getting offended all the time, it does no good to you, or to them.

What will do a load of good is to look past the sin, to the person hurting and filling their life with something to fill the void, and love them exactly where they are at, for who they are. We are always preaching that God does it. We are God's impersonators here on earth, what they see in us they credit to God, good or bad.

Lesson of the day: Love speaks louder than piety