Live A Revolution... Every Day

The New "See and Say" - The Gift That Keeps On Giving

As I look over my 33 years of life, one of the greatest gifts that many people gave to me at different stages of my life can be found in Romans 4v17. Check this out:

"...the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were."

This is one of my favorite passages that describes God.

How freaking awesome is that! I love that description of God.

To call things that are not as though they were... That's powerful. To help someone see who they can become, to help someone see what they can do, to cast vision into someone's being - that's catalytic.

I know from experience.

It breeds hope. It generates excitement. It creates a movement. And it has the power to change lives.

And it's something all of us can do!

It's the new See and Say.

If the Shoe Fits

Below is a photo of my little girl's feet in her mommy's shoes.

She can walk in them ok... especially for a two year old. But she still stumbles and falls, cause they just don't fit.

When she wears her own shoes, she's on. Cause she's found her fit. Sure she'll still stumble here and there, but not in the same way.

One of my goals in working with students is to help them find what fits. To help them find what they're gifted in and run with it. It's one of the things that makes my heart race fast. And it's something that we're starting to focus on more at Revolve.

That's actually a challenge that all of us face... to find what fits. To discover what we're gifted at and run with it. It's one of the most exciting adventures we could go on.

I can't wait to get started with out students!

The $500 Lesson - Ouch!

So...

Last night, at Revolve, my Xbox 360 was ripped off. Locked the doors, thought we had a good head count. But one dude was able to slip away and took off with the console, three games and two controllers.

What is that, about $500 bones worth of stuff. And to top it off, it's "my" stuff that we used for ministry purposes.

Not gonna lie, I was pissed... on the inside... and prolly a little on the outside as well. Still am. And, I'm sad to say, I even prayed at one point that my Xbox would get the Red Ring of Death as he was playing UFC.

And what sucks even more, we were teaching James 2:1-13. Here's what verse 10 says, "For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws." Nooooo. I wanted to be sooooo angry at this kid. He's guilty. I am justified with being angry at him, at thinking negative thoughts about him - at thinking he's just as grimey as the nasty cat pictured below. There's just one problem, I'm guilty too. Just as he's broken God's law, I have too... making me

just

like

him.

And then to top it off, verse 13 says, "There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you." When someone hurts me, I get angry, like Incredible Hulk angry. Only without the muscles or turning green. But it doesn't have to be like that. In fact, it shouldn't.

So I had a choice last night, as I do today and tomorrow - to live in my anger, or extend mercy. I wish it was a natural, easy choice for me. But it's something I'm still working on.

But here's the bottom line - things are just things. If I place more value on things than relationships, then I'm just as bad off as the thief. And, even though it hurts, this is the exact type of kid we're trying to reach.

It just sucks that it took $500 to teach me a lesson.

What Every Student Needs

I was recently talking with Matt and I posed this question: What do you think students NEED from their leaders (you could also insert parents as well)?

It's not a question that holds one answer. Each person you ask could quite possibly give you a different response. 

But, it's one of the most important questions to keep at the top of our minds.

And while I have a list of my own answers, this one is probably at the top...

Consistency

I believe students need their leaders (and parents) to demonstrate a high level of consistency.

* Consistency in holding them accountable.

* Consistency in our walk with Jesus.

* Consistency in our relationship with our spouse (if you're married). 

* Consistency in our moods.

* Consistency in following through with our commitments.

Students need to see and experience a leader's high level of consistency. 

What do you think?

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I'm A Little Fruity

"No wonder the Scriptures say, "The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you." Romans 2v24

Over the weekend I was going to dive into a container of strawberrys. As I looked closely, I noticed a couple that had fungus on them. They looked healthy on one side, but on then other lay death and decay. So what did I do? I got rid of them. Because here's the thing about decaying fruit, if left alone, that fruit will begin to infect and destroy a considerable amount of the remaining healthy fruit.

Romans 2v24 reminded me of that this afternoon. 

Back in verse 17, it says, "You who call yourselves Jews are relying on God's law, and you boast about your special relationship with him." The following scripture (18-23) goes on to say that the Jews knew what was right because they have been taught God's law. They know not to break God's law but they still did. 

Today, I think, we can substitute the word "Jew" in verse 17 with, baptist, pentecostal, methodist, southern baptist (ohhhh), non-denominational, missionary, catholic, christian, born again... etc. You who call yourselves... insert your denomination here...

Each denomination has something "special" to boast about. THAT doesn't matter. It simply doesn't matter what I call myself. What does matter is whether or not my heart's been changed by God's spirit. What does matter is whether or not I'm causing someone to NOT follow God. 

That's the question, am I causing someone to not see who God really is by my life, words, actions... etc? Has my heart been changed by God's spirit? The question is, am I the healthy fruit, or the fungus-ridden fruit spreading death and decay?

Because, in the end, we're all fruit. It just depends which kind.

Romans 2:17-29

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What is being said about you in the morning paper

"...because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world." Romans 1v8

What are you known for?

It's a poignant question. 

The answer...

Can change in a heartbeat.

The answer...

Can also take many months and years to form.

What are you known for?

If there were a poll taken of people from the differing segments of your life...

Right now...

What would the answer be?

What are you known for?

It's pretty powerful, that without any internet, 24-hour news stations, iPhone, Palm Pre, Blackberry, airplane or bullet train, that the faith of the Roman's whom Paul was writing to was being talked about all over the world.

What are you known for?

Is it positive?

Is it negative?

Is it something you would be proud of?

What are you known for?

What Are Your Dreams?

One of my favorite questions to ask students is, "What are your dreams." I started asking this question during my sophomore year at Liberty University as my Resident Assistant partner, Virgil Tanner, and I were looking to recruit Prayer Leaders for our residence hall.

It's an important question with long lasting eternal consequences. I've found that, students who don't have dreams, don't have hope. And students who don't have hope, often times don't have a life they enjoy.

As someone who interacts with students on a daily basis, whether it's through Revolve or my own two kiddies, it's important to me that students dream big, God-sized dreams. That they dream of what they can become in and through Jesus Christ. And to grasp the hope of Jesus so they can have the best life possible. 

I want to be a catalyst in their lives to dream, have hope and live the best life possible.

Do you?

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Be Nice... NOW... Please

I struggle with being negative. I struggle with gossip. It comes natural to me. I'm sure I'm not in the minority when it comes to these two things. It sucks. I know that. And I acknowlege that. So, in an effort to hold myself accountable, I'm going to start adding a (+) sign, or a (-) sign at the end of my Twitter and blog posts. It's fairly self-explanable. If the post is positive, I add an (+) to the end. If the post is negative, I'll add an (-) to the end. Pretty simple.

Brody Harper actually started this little dealeo and has given permission to steal it... so I did. 

In the end, I want to be a person who dwells on what's good, and pure, and noble. I actually want to be "nice". And,  I want to be less "negative". But when I am, because I will be negative at some point, I want to have enough balls to call myself out.

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Give me a "D" Give me a "O" Give me a "R" Give me a "K" What's that Spell? "TODD"

Well, at least in 6th grade (and probably still today). Found this photo on Facebook. Check me out. Look at how high my pants were pulled up. Shirt tucked in. And the length of my legs look unhuman. 

Randy Johnson - 164 Means Just As Much As 300 - Moving Beyond Failure

Randy Johnson became just the 24th pitcher in baseball history to win 300 games. That's a gi-normous achievement. People all over the world are talking about his 300th win. 

But, what people aren't talking about, is the 164 lossing games.

Before Randy Johnson won his historical 300th game, he lost 164 times. He's had to endure 164 heartaches, failures, losing attempts... however you want to look at it.

But after each loss, he kept going. He learned from what went wrong, and moved forward. It's easy to look at this 300th win with awe and wonder. But it's not the win that really matters... it's the will and drive to keep going. To keep working. To keep moving forward, even in the midst of losing.

It's easy to give up. And it's hard to keep going.

In baseball. In life. In ministry.

There are many times we're going to want to give up and give in. But we won't reach the victory in life, ministry, career, family, etc. unless we keep going. We won't reach the achievement God has for us, unless we keep taking steps forward - unless we follow the path He has for us. 

I'm sure those 164 losses were hard for Randy Johnson. Some probably harder than others. But he didn't give in.

I'm sure there will be seasons in each of our lives, ministries, careers, families, that will be hard. Some probably harder than others. Learn from what went wrong...

And move forward.