One of the most common ministry opportunities I have is helping people discover God’s will and determine a life direction. I sometimes feel I get to be a sort of “life coach”. I believe strongly in having a plan of where you want to go and what you want out of life. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18) Several years ago I started asking people three questions to help them begin to formulate their own life plan. The questions are:

Where do you want to go?

Begin to ask yourself some evaluation questions. You can think of your own, but here’s some to consider. (Don’t be afraid to dream and think big when answering these questions.)

• If you could see your life in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, what would you hope to see?
• Where would you live?
• Where are you in your career?
• What kind of relationship would you have with your spouse; with your children, etc.?
• What does your relationship with God look like?

How are you going to get there?

People are usually pretty good at answering the questions above, or at least they have general ideas, but we don’t always plan a course of action to get there. One truth we cannot escape is that we will most likely end up in the direction we are heading. So, we don’t usually meet the goals we set for ourselves unless we aim for them. Begin to take the answers to the questions above and write some action steps to meeting them. What would you have to do differently in your life if you want to end up someday where you say you do?

Are you willing to pay the price?

This is always the quickest question to answer, but if it’s answered truthfully it is always the hardest question. I hear men talk about wanting a close family, but they aren’t willing to place their family ahead of their career or hobbies. Someone says they want to advance in their career, but they aren’t willing to gain the education necessary. Achieving success at anything requires a certain level of sacrifice. Some people may want to attain the level, but they aren’t willing to invest what is required to get there. At some point you will have to determine if you are.

Spend some time wrestling with these questions and you will be on your way to developing your own life plan. For accountability purposes, share them with someone close to you and give them permission to periodically ask you how you are doing.

For a continuation of this post, see THIS POST.

Are you willing to give it a try?

Hopefully if you are in crisis-mode right now you are beginning to see the end of the tunnel.  I pray God brings you through this time quickly.  It’s important to know what to do AFTER the time of crisis has passed.  Here are 5 things to do AFTER a time of crisis:

1. Rejoice – Be thankful the crisis is over and a time of peace has come.  I have many times prayed fervently during the hard times, but forsaken my “God-time” when everything is going well. Don’t follow my example in this. 
2. Share – The Bible is clear that we are to use our struggles to help others in theirs.  Often because of fear or embarrassment we don’t allow people to see our past hurts.  This denies God the opportunity to use the experiences He has given us for His glory.  (Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-7)
3. Prepare – If you have lived long enough you know that seasons of crisis come many times in life.  During the quiet times when all is going well is when we should be preparing for harder times.
4. Rest – To borrow from the Cheers theme song, “Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot.”   Many people never enjoy the peaceful times because they are too paranoid about the next crisis that may or may not even occur.  We should prepare for times of trouble, but we should never live in a state of worry. 
5. Grow -   I have grown spiritually more during the hard times than in the easy times of life.  Crisis-mode teaches us valuable insight into the character and heart of God.  Use the down times to evaluate God, your life, and see how the two connect.  Work on the places you are out of sync with God’s will for your life.

 It would be nice if you never needed these blogs.  My sense is, if your life is anything like mine, that some of you will. 

In my last post I shared 5 things not to do in times of crisis.  I began with the negative, because in my experience that’s where most people begin when crisis occurs.  (Read: 5 Things NOT To Do In Times of Crisis)  We often tend to run in the opposite direction from where we should run.  Some of the worst decisions I have observed people make (including me) are during the crisis-mode times of life. 

Obviously knowing what to do in these times is equally important. So, here are 5 things TO DO in times of crisis. When crisis comes;

DO:

1. Stay – I love Seth Godin’s book “The Dip” where he explains how important it is to know when to quit and that time may come.  At the beginning of the crisis is not that time.  Until you have been able to evaluate the crisis from every angle and you clearly know there is no way out, stay the course.  Godin’s book also talks about how those who succeed learn to push through the hard times.  Stay in it long enough to know which time it is for you. 
2. Stand – Stick to your moral convictions and the vision you have for your life.  Don’t allow the crisis to keep you from doing the right things, even if that seems to be the quickest solution.  Stand with the moral and personal convictions you had before the crisis began. 
3. Glean – Learn from others who have gone through similar crises. Someone else’s past situation may not be identical to yours, but the emotional and decision-making process they went through probably will be.  Most people after a crisis can tell you things they wish they had done differently.
4. Examine – At some point you’ll need to ask yourself how you got in the crisis in the first place. If it was a matter of bad decisions, how can you keep from making those same mistakes again?  If you keep finding yourself in the same crisis, shouldn’t that tell you something?  (Sometimes the answer will simply be because we live in a messed-up world.  Don’t be afraid of that answer.) 
5. Learn – Allow every crisis to teach you something about life. If you go into the crisis with this mindset you will be surprised how different your approach to solving it and dealing with it emotionally will be.  God is always willing to use the hard times to teach us important principles about life, ourselves, and about Him.

I’ve got one more list to come about the times of crisis. Next post I will share 5 things to do after a crisis. 

(Note: I realize that these are general suggestions and your situation is unique and specific.  Hopefully the generic helps some, but as I wrote yesterday, don’t be afraid to ask for help.) 

In my profession I end up encountering a lot of people in crisis mode.  It seems to be more often than not lately. For the next few blogs I want to address this issue with some thoughts on how to respond during these times of life.  If you don’t need them now, store them away for future reference. In the world in which we live those times are sure to come. 

So, to begin the dialogue, here are 5 things NOT to do in times of crisis:

DO NOT:

1.       Panic – Panic is “a sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior” (Dictionary.com) If you panic when crisis occurs you’ll most always make the wrong decision and cause yourself more pain. Calm down; come to your senses; and think and pray through a wise decision. 

2.       Give Up – When I was in a business that was struggling the worst reaction to my situation, which was the one I chose most often, is to run from the problem.  That never solves anything. Looking back I wish I had stayed the course, because when I gave up, so did those I was supposed to be leading. 

3.       Blame Others (This includes kicking yourself.)  Figuring out who is at fault when you are in crisis- mode is probably not as important as figuring out what to do next. 

4.       Refuse Help – I have learned by experience that the same time God is allowing a crisis to occur He is rising up people to intercede on behalf of the suffering.  Don’t deny someone their opportunity to be obedient to what God calls them to do, even if that means swallowing your pride and letting them help. 

5.        Deny God – People either run towards God or away from God in times of crisis.  You can probably figure out which option works best. 

Last fall I was running on a country road in the middle of Kansas and was stopped dead in my tracks with this scene.  Instantly thoughts flooded through my mind.  One day I suppose a man came home from work and said to his wife, “Honey, the house is ready. The place you dreamed of is complete.  It has plenty of room, there is an upstairs like you wanted and wait until you see the rock I found with which to build it.  This house is what we’ve been working so hard to get!   We are going to be so happy in this place.”  Today, this is that same house.

This is where most of what we invest in on this earth ends up someday.  If we buy the nicest car with the best warranty; someday, unless extreme care is taken, it will be in a junk pile.  The greatest house money can buy will one day no longer be the greatest house.  Have you ever acquired the “latest” technology? Is it still the latest?  How soon did the Apple iPhone need to be upgraded to be the “latest”?    In the end, the things in the material world just don’t last. 

What’s the moral here?  Well, Jesus said it best.   (Matthew 6:19-21) “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal.  Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves.  Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be. “   

Someone’s dream house sitting abandoned 100 years later was a good reminder to me to make sure I’m investing my life into things that outlast time. 

Here’s a great evaluation question: Are the places where you are investing the best part of your life in the areas you most want to grow and build something that lasts?

Okay, forgive the poor attempt at humor here, but I’m not even sure this is funny. Today I got a letter.  I won’t tell you who from, but I think it’s too good (or too something) not to share.  (My wife says I share too much.)  What would you think if you got this letter? 

Dear Pastor,

You recently received a letter of invitation to the Pastor’s Update held at _________________ September 10th-12th.

Please disregard this invitation – this is a training/informative seminar for Black Pastors and Planters.

Sincerely,

____________________

Wait a minute!  I already had it on my calendar!  Not really, but I am disappointed I don’t qualify.  Plus, how do they know I’m not black.  I am not aware that I ever indicated that on any documents this organization would have.  I’m sure it was a huge error to send out the original invitation, which I don’t even remember receiving, but the retraction is hilarious.  So much for bridging the barrier lines in our churches. 

Just for that, I’m not going to their little party.  You can take me off the list!

Today begins a week long 100^th anniversary celebration of the Model T Ford in Wayne County, Indiana. Is anyone living that could say today, “That was my first car. I bought it new.”? Probably not; this is a really old car. Affectionately called “Tin Lizzie” it was America’s first “affordable” automobile.

To most of the world, really including me, this celebration will not be a major event in our lives. As an observer of culture, however, and someone who truly loves change, I’m reminded today that “the more things change, the more they remain the same. The author of Ecclesiastes said, “There is nothing new under the sun”.

There is no doubt that the world is changing fast. I saw the phrase “temporary contemporary” recently and that seems very true about our society. Nothing seems to stay the same for long. Cultures and paradigm shifts that used to be measured in decades will soon have to be measured in years. Just to keep up these days it is important for organizations to be continually adapting. We should be changing before the next paradigm shift gets here if we are to be successful. Futurists and others who monitor trends and can predict where society will go next are in high demand and will remain valuable to any organization.

While all that is true, we must never forget that there will always be those who resist change and there will always be elements of society that places a high value on tradition and things of the past. (Keep in mind, things of the past is a very relative term these days.) The balance of celebrating “retro” and adapting to “modern” will continue to be a true art in the days to come.

The issue came up today about the lack of front porches. Years ago every house had a front porch and we knew all our neighbors. Now fewer homes have front porches; in fact many neighborhoods have none; we invest most of our money in our backyards with pools, patios, gardens, etc. and most of us couldn’t tell you our neighbors names, much less anything about them.  Yet, interestingly, we are evidently desiring more than ever community, as evidenced by the dozens of social networking websites that are so popular.  We have become introverted neighbors and extraverted bloggers. 

Which reminds me that our oldest son, the extraverted Jeremy has said many times he wants a big front porch on any house he owns!  Go Jeremy!  Bring back real community!   

We could use a little competition in the church.  I know, that’s a “bad” word around most church people, but frankly, I’m not your average church guy.  I guess coming from the business world into the church world one of the things that has baffled me the most is this anti-competitive spirit among pastors and churches.  I really believe a little competition could do us all some good.   

Please don’t misunderstand what I’m advocating.  I believe we are all on the same team.  I think, if we have a passion to reach people for Christ (the one and only Jesus Christ, Son of God, King of kings, Lord of lords, Creator of the Universe who died and rose again and only through Him we receive eternal life Christ….just so I’m clear) then we share the same basic vision for our church.  We are all trying to disciple people to reach more people for Christ (Yes, that same Christ.) 

What has seemed strange to me is how many tend to view any church that honors Christ opening near their church that also honors Christ.  (Again, same Christ.)  When we started our church one would have thought we were starting a war in some people’s minds.  This is my second church plant.  This one happens to be in my hometown.  The first one was not.  Because I was an unknown planter I didn’t bother anyone there until we started to grow and then it seemed every large church in town wanted to get to know me so they could figure out what we were doing.  I always felt the main thing they wanted to know was how many of their people we had.  People can criticize the way we began. (I’ve seen the Ed Young Jr. video criticizing what he calls “church pirates”.) They can argue against our methods (to reach people for the same Christ I remind you), but the bottom line most of the time, at least it appears to me, is that in the church world some feel there is to be no competition.  This is especially true within particular denominations. 

That appears exactly opposite of the business world. Competition in business serves a great function. Today in Philadelphia I saw a Ted’s Montana Grill right next to a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.  Of course, anyone who goes to Philly is made aware of Pat’s and Geno’s steak sandwich war that’s been going on for years.  They are right across the street from each other.  Almost everywhere I see a Lowe’s I also see a Home Depot nearby.  Some say the best pace to open an independent coffee shop is near a popular Starbucks.  Why do the best malls have the nicest food courts; with dozens of restaurants located next to each other?  Have you ever been to a farmer’s market?  Just wondering: is it still called a farmer’s market if there is only one farmer there? 

Could it be because the business world knows something about competition that the church world needs to learn?   Perhaps we need to learn a valuable business principle that competition drives interest, which generates traffic, which translates into bigger sales; which happens to be the like goal of each of the businesses.  If we are all in it for the same end purpose, maybe we need to be less afraid of competition and more grateful when someone in the same “industry” of leading people to Christ (same Christ) opens nearby.  We might even want to help them get started. It might be good for “business”.     

By the way, in addition to greater sales, competition also has a way of generating better quality and we all know a few churches (including mine) that could always use more of that….

·         Airline

·         Automobile

·         Electronics/Technology

·         Television

·         Publishing

·         Utilities

·         Agriculture

·         Banking/Mortgage

·         Manufacturing

·         Housing

·         Healthcare

·         Music

Should there be any question that the industry of church (the way we do church) would need to be undergoing change also?  The product stays the same.  The way we get people interested is changing rapidly.