Passionately Following Jesus
This is an event hosted by The 410 Bridge. You need to be there!
Its going to be awesome!!!
Click HERE or the button above to order your tickets.
Lanny Donoho asked me personally via Twitter (ok maybe I wasn’t the only one he asked) to post this, you can see his blog HERE and his Twitter HERE.
See you there!
Nick
I love this portion of John Maxwell’s, Developing the Leader Within You.
“A wise philosopher once commented that an eagle’s only obstacle to overcome for flying with greater speed and ease is the air. Yet, if the air were withdrawn, and the proud bird were to fly in a vacuum, it would fall instantly to the ground, unable to fly at all. The very element that offers resistance to flying is at the same time the condition for flight.”
I can’t tell you how many times as a leader I have thought or communicated the idea that if a specific obstacle was not standing in our way, we would be able to accomplish much more than we were able to in that moment. However, looking back on those times, I now see that without those obstacles or problems, we would have never achieved what we achieved. Erwin McManus shares that it is the very lack of resources that forces us as leaders to be more creative in achieving our goals…but many times people look at obstacles as God “shutting a door” or “God not providing.” So instead of mobilizing and moving forward towards our goal, we back down and sit paralyzed staring at the obstacle that we allowed to stand in our way. I immediately think about Joshua and the Wall of Jericho. Joshua knew what God had called him to but he had the choice to obey or to be paralyzed, we all know based on the Biblical account, he did not allow the obstacle to stand in the way. Here is what Maxwell goes on to say…
“Many of the Psalms were born in difficulty. “Most of the Epistles were written in prisons. Most of the greatest thoughts of the greatest thinkers of all time had to pass through the fire. Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress from jail. Florence Nightingale, too ill to move from her bed, reorganized hospitals of England…Bury a person in snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty, and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes a Franklin D. Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that the doctors say he will never walk again, and you have Glenn Cunningham, who set the world’s one-mile record in 1934. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have Washington Carver, or a Martin Luther King, Jr. Call him a slow learner and retarded-writing him off as uneducable, and you have an Albert Einstein.”
So what obstacle are you allowing to be an excuse to be paralyzed as a leader? Finances, Space, Volunteers, Lack of Knowledge/Wisdom, Lack of Skill??? Sometimes the very thing we think is holding us back is the very thing that propels us forward! (By the way, if you have influence you are a leader – Christian, Business owner, parent, spouse, employer, teacher, we are all leaders in some way).
Join the Conversation: What obstacles as a leader are you facing? Is it paralyzing you or is is propelling you forward to be more effective?
I don’t know about you, but I hate going to car dealerships! I used to sell cars for a short stint of my life while I was in-between jobs. I’ve been in the meetings where the salespeople are trained how to be dishonest and how to lie to gain a sale, so when it comes time to buy a vehicle, I hate it and get serious headaches as well, I get in a bad mood.
On top of having to go purchase a vehicle, this is a horrible time to have an SUV that you are trying to trade-in. It is a great time to be in the market for a SUV. My family and I were in both predicaments. We had a 2005 Nissan X-Terra that we needed to trade-in as our family just grew to the place where we could no longer legally and safely fit in it, but we needed a larger SUV or van to solve our problem. We were siding with the SUV…just because we are not the van kind of people.
Saturday morning we went to our normal breakfast place (Sunrise Grill) before we went to Master Pontiac, Buick, GMC of Augusta. I said a little prayer to myself that God would give us a salesman that would do us right and not play games with us. We pulled into the lot and there he was, the salesman that was going to be
our headache for the next several hours or the man that God was going to answer my prayers with. Fortunately, Archie Hixon, was the answer to my earlier prayer. He was a great salesman and a very great guy overall. My wife and I left the lot feeling like we knew a great deal about his family. It turned out that Archie goes to a local church and is very involved in their small groups. When he found out I used to be a full time youth pastor and was praying about God opening a door for me to get back full time, he urged me to check into the opening at his church as their youth pastor just left to start a church. As serious as Archie was, I knew this guy was not about to pull a fast one on us, when he was wanting to see us every weekend.
My wife and I were very pleased with the deal they gave us on our trade and the price that we got our new/used Chevrolet Trailblazer for. We asked for them to lower the price on the Trailblazer but they said it had already been discounted and they were firm on their price, but they easily gave us a new set of tires without any hassle. We were never put under pressure to add anything, Archie wanted to make sure we were offered the extended warranties and the other extras, but once we declined we faced no rebuttals. The bottom line is, we left the dealership $2,000 under what we were expecting to pay, we feel the price for the vehicle we purchased was fair and right, and Archie was a great salesperson. We did not purchase from him because he was a Christian, but a good salesman (trust me I have not bought from people because they were horrible salespeople), however I am glad I found out we were helping provide for a fellow believer with our purchase, as I know the car market is a tough business period, but especially with a tough economy.
If you are in the CSRA or the Augusta area and you are looking for a vehicle, go talk with Archie Hixon at Master Pontiac, Buick, GMC in Augusta on Washington Rd. You’ll be glad you did!
Join the Conversation: Have you had a great experience or a poor experience with a recent purchase? Tell me about it!
I have an American Eagle All-Access Pass, so their new underwear & lounge wear company, “Aerie” sent me a post card for a free pair of panties. If you are not familiar with Aerie they are a company for ladies, kind of like an American Eagle style Victoria Secret for 14-30 year olds (I may be off on my demographics) minus the lingerie.
Since I do not wear panties I let my wife redeem the card for the free pair. Something like an early birthday or anniversary gift, you know just in case I fortget when those special events come around! We walked into the new store at our local Mall, I loved the outside, it was cladded in brick, just like it was located at an outdoor Promenade. When you walk into the store everything is laid out nicely, the store was lit up brightly, and everything looked fresh. My wife browsed through the tables of the underwear that they were giving away as a part of their grand opening special. I was surprised that they had about 4 tables of free underwear, usually a store gives you one small section of free stuff and it usually looks like the items come from the lower quality products that they sell. Aeries was giving away their everyday $7.50 or 5 for $25 pair of underwear for their promotion.
We took my wife’s selection up to the table, and the store representative hit my wife with the BIG question, “Are you a member of the A-List?” – The store rep did not care if my wife said no, as she did, because as soon as my wife said no, the representative said, “If you would like to sign up for the A-List tonight, you will get another free pair of panties now and every 
Thursday you will be eligible to receive a free in store gift, just bring this card in and they will give you your free gift and punch your card.” “If you want to go pick out another pair of underwear, I will get you a registration form ready.” My wife’s response, “Ok!”
My wife brings her selection back to the counter and as the representative is ringing them up, my wife fills out the simple form to be an “A-Lister,” and waits for the representative to finish her technical stuff at the register for the free underwear and to wrap up the free gifts. The next question from the rep was, “What color ribbon woul you like?” My wife quickly responded, “Pink is fine!” – The store representative wraps both items in a nice box and tops it off with a ribbon. Here’s a few things I noticed while all of this is taking place:
Join the Conversation: What’s your thoughts?
I’ve always told people that I feel God expects a lot out of me because I feel I have had so much invested in me. The Bible says, “To whom much is given, much is required.” I listed 7 leaders who have had influence in my life, either personally or from a distance in my Influences (Part 1) post HERE. Yet, I feel like the people I listed there and the people I will list here have been used by God to get me where I am today, but yet there are still other leaders waiting in the wings to help me get to the next level of my potential. Erwin McManus said this in Chasing Daylight, “No one moves from potential to maximum capacity without help from others. Often lost potential is the result of lack of investment.” – I never had anyone personally disciple me or take me aside and teach me leadership principles or principles for life in general other than my parents, I learned mostly by watching and observing others in action, and listening to others’ conversations and reading.
So with that, here are some of the final influences in my life, this is not by far all of them, but some key ones:
8. Rick Warren – Purpose Driven is not the only way to do ministry. In fact some churches have found that other paradigms work best for their church, however Rick Warren was key to opening my eyes to a whole new way of looking at life and ministry, simplified but effective. Who can argue with the 5 Biblical Purposes for our lives and a strong balanced focus for our ministries based on Evangelism, Discipleship, Service, Fellowship, and Worship? Rick Warren was one of the first people to help influence me in a direction away from legalism and religion.
9. Andy Stanley & Louie Giglio: When I think of Andy Stanley and Louie Giglio for some reason I think about them together. It was the Thirsty Conference in 2005 and the 2006 Catalyst Conference that I was dealing with some pretty heavy stuff in ministry. I was devistated, wounded, and ready to throw in the towel. However, at both conferences, God gave Andy and Louie the message that I needed on both occassions. I am sorry if you were one of the thousands of people there, but you were just along for the ride. 2 different conferences, 2 different years, 2 different speakers and a perfect message for some areas I was dealing with. Some of the key things I have learned from Andy is the following: #1 Leadership is a sterwardship, its on loan from God and He will hold us accountable. #2 God is soverign over the kingdoms of men and he gives them to whoever He chooses, even the lowliest of men. (I didn’t even have to look it up, its seared into my brain) and #3 The biggest temptation leaders have is to presume on God. Some of the key things I have learned from Louie is so much I cannot list them all, but a few are #1 How to love Jesus more and be who he has called us to be #2 How to pray like I am praying to a Big God and #3 The power of the cross.
10. Erwin McManus – I have never been so challenged in my life. I love his books, his podcasts, and every message I have heard from him. No matter how much I listen to Erwin, I walk away challenged and educated. I love Mosaic, I had an opportunity to visit there two years ago & it is amazing what God is doing there.
11. Larry Brown – My wife’s first pastor from birth until we got married and my pastor for several years. I never agreed with everyone he had in leadership positions at the church he pastored and the Christian school they ran, but he was a very godly man who loved Jesus and loved others, a man of integrity, a strong leader, and a great friend to my parents and my inlaws. Most of all he is a great pastor to his people and a friend to other pastors. He had a lot of influence in my life as a young person.
12. Charlie – Charlie is a friend who happens to be a superstar. Charlie is a morning show host for a Country radio station (WCOS 97.5) in Columbia, SC and last years Acadamy of Country Music Award Recipient for the Broadcast Personality of the Year for the Medium Market. I could careless about those stats though. Charlie has been an inspiration to me, I have seen him stand firm for what is right, when all others abandoned him and made him stand alone. I have seen him on the other side of the mic and see the huge heart that he and his wife have for our family and for other people in general. Charlie and his wife and their daughter Katy have been great friends to our family. Charlie is an outstanding teacher of the Bible and has greatly influenced my life through his teaching. Beyond being a great friend Charlie has been a mentor to me as a young man.
13. Dolphus Bell – Has some of the greatest integrity I have ever seen in a man. I served on a church leadership team with Dolphus and he is full of wisdom and has been a great spiritual mentor to me. I have learned so much from Dolphus I could not begin to share it all. I have seen Dolphus sit silent in some controversial meetings holding his peace, but when he spoke up at the very end, it was as if his words were straight from God. When I think of Dolphus I think of two things: #1 Wisdom and #2 He can get a hold of God; if you had a special prayer need, Dolphus is the type person you would usually want to go to first.
14. Bob Wilson – Bob and I have a special relationship. He is a great friend but also a great spiritual mentor. Bob and I have spent hours upon hours talking Jesus and ministry. Bob was our Small Groups Pastor at a former church and I was his understudy. He enabled me to learn small groups and to implement them in the ministries that I oversaw. He taught me a lot.
I believe one of the greatest things these people have taught me is character. None of them are perfect and some of the people mentioned here I have never met, but God has still used them in my life. Abraham Lincoln said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” I believe these men have used their power for good in my life and I am eternally thankful for it!
Join the Conversation: Who has had an influence in your life lately?