All posts in Quotables

Influence in My Post-Ministry Life

by John on March 23, 2011 in Disney, Family, Friends, Health, Leadership, Personal, Quotables with 6 Comments

One of the things that I learned years ago was from author John Maxwell, he says that “Leadership is Influence.” And he is 100% correct. So when I made the decision to step away from my occupational ministry life and step fully back into the secular world, questions began to arise as to what my influence would be. And in a shocking way, God answered that question in of all places, Walt Disney World.

Frequent readers to this blog will know that my wife and I are full-on Disney Geeks. We accept that and all the ridicule and judgment that comes with being in love with a place built by a mouse, but that is beside the point. Being as passionate about Walt Disney World as we are, Sarah and I began to discern how we could still DO ministry in my post “occupational” ministry life. The answer came at an after dinner gathering at the “Top of the World Club” at Bay Lake Tower, next to the Contemporary resort, near the Magic Kingdom.

Walking away from “the church” also meant that we lost a LOT of our friends. Of course you COULD make the argument that just because we left the church doesn’t mean that we coouldn’t keep our friends..“ But that was not how it happened for us. When we left the church, we DID lose our friends. But that’s not ALWAYS the case.

But on this special night, we were surrounded by a group of people who accepted us for who we are, support and encourage us, and seek us out to spend time with and invest in our lives. And some of these people, we have had real, difficult discussions with. God brought us a new group of people that we can HAVE influence on and also BE influenced by! And it all made sense.

In the immortal words of my favorite Disney character Stitch, “This is my family, it is small, and broken, but still good…yeah, still good.” These are some of the people who I have to lean on and be a solid for them to lean on. These are people who I can confide in and be a confidence to. I have been blessed with some amazing relationships and I value each and every one. Much like some of our other great friendships, these people are AWESOME, and they are there for us.

The focus of my leadership may have shifted, but my call and my desire to serve is still strong and passionate today. I feel very blessed and humbled to allow these people to have influence on my life. And I hope to one day have some influence on theirs. I know that loving God and loving others makes God very happy, but I also think that Uncle Walt would be happy too.

Who has influence on YOUR life? Who are YOU influencing?

Slipping the Surly Bonds of Earth

by John on January 28, 2011 in Family, Friends, Personal, Quotables with No comments

It was a very cold day in Atlanta, GA.

I was in High School. 16.

It was a snow day and I was over at my friend Richi’s house.

Rich, myslef, and John, Richi’s brother, were all watching the Shuttle launch together, laughing, joking, picking on the younger brother…and then everything changed.

I saw the puff of a what we would later find out was the initial explosion and stopped. Even the immature 16 year-old i was knew in my core that something was terribly wrong with what I was watching. Richi knew too. We stopped. Stopped laughing, stopped playing, just….stopped.

And then the reports started to come in. Explosion… no survivors… worst disaster in US Space history…

That evening we joined the nation sitting in front of our television sets as we watched then President Ronald Reagan try to help us all come to terms with losing 7 of our best and brightest.

I can remember the John Gillespie Magee Jr. poem he recited…

‘They have “slipped the surly bonds of Earth” to “touch the face of God.”

– Ronald Reagan

And I can remember that moment…even today, 25 years later. I still cry every time I think about it. It’s the truest meaning of galvanized into my brain, and my heart. I still ache for those left behind…

And still we strive to reach beyond our human limits, so explore and search outside of our comfort zones. The testimony of our human ingenuity and skill.

But that day, so long ago, a memory… a tearful pang of sorrow for those 7 Challenger Astronauts…

Godspeed.

Are We Building a Tower?

by John on January 24, 2011 in Church, Personal, Quotables with No comments

I was reading in Genesis 11:1-9, the story of the Tower of Babel. If you are unfamiliar with the story, immediately after Noah and his family are released from the Ark, God tells them to “be fruitful and multiply.” And as the world becomes more and more populated the people decide to build for themselves a tower to make a name for themselves. And God say this and aid to himself, “they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” After realizing this, God confused their languages and spread them all over the earth. So they never finished building the tower and God called the place Babel, because there the LORD confusedthe language of all the earth.

And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.

And I asked myself: What did God see in those people that he decided to confuse their language and spread them all over the earth?

Did God know that they would play God ourselves with technology and begin to clone human beings in their own image? Or did He see that they would begin to choose exactly what their children would look like, even before they were born?

Perhaps God foresaw that they would build machines that would allow them gaze into the outer reaches of the universe and actually see Heaven and no longer wonder about its existence, therefore taking away the need for faith?

What did God see that people setting their minds to that they would accomplish, so much so that even God said that it would be IMPOSSIBLE for them to not succeed?

(via www.scienceblogs.com)

Maybe God only postponed the inevitable and we are that future people, surpassing language and distance through the internet and advanced learning of language and technology? It does make you wonder…

What do you think that God saw that people setting their minds to?