A few months ago, my girlfriend turned into my fiancee. Over those months, we’ve told the story of our engagement and shown her ring to dozens of friends and family members. My fiancee, like many before her, loves having the ring. It represents a committed love from someone she cherishes and values. But the whole experience got me thinking of one question:
Why don’t men wear engagement rings? Continue reading
A few years ago, I had the chance to go on a mission trip to a really remote village in Honduras. I was told that the villagers spoke no English, which wasn’t supposed to be a problem because we actually had a translator travel with us from the church. I could talk to the villagers fairly easily when he was around, and thus I could feel like I was fitting in.
The problem came when he wasn’t around.
There were times I would find myself alone with three or four villagers, mixing or pouring concrete for a floor, and I would try to get to know them a little bit more. The problem is that I speak drunken third grade Spanish on a good day. So it became more and more clear that I wasn’t “from round here”.
There is a discomfort that comes from being an outsider. If you don’t know what’s going on and no way to figure out what’s going on, it can be intimidating. Trying to acclimate is a daunting task when you don’t know what’s going on, or why.
Hopefully, by now you’ve seen the newest comic book blockbuster movie, ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’. If not, I recommend it. As a comic book fan, it was a lot of fun, and there are fun moments.
More than enjoying popcorn and watching fun action, there were a few things I walked away being reminded of for church leadership that I wanted to share with you. (You don’t have to worry, I’m not going to spoil anything).
So here are three things I (re)learned about leadership from ‘Batman v Superman‘:
There was a time when I was in college that I had a fairly unique world view. It just took me a few years to really grasp it. While I attended college at a small Christian school (the kind that makes you go to chapel three times a week), I was also training with the Army ROTC program at a nearby university. In between my classes on the Old Testament and Christian theology, I was learning how to conduct ambushes and attack fortified bunkers.
It was a weird juxtaposition to say the least. It was also the birth of ‘Joe’. (If you haven’t read my post about ‘Joe’, you really should do that before reading further. You can do that by clicking here)
Joe, and by default I, saw the world as divided up into two categories; people and targets. I wish I could say that more gently than that, but it’s the reality of my perspective with/through Joe. The thing is, I just didn’t realize it. In fact, I wouldn’t fully realize it until years later.
I live in a small, rural town of about 700 people. It has a few different businesses, including a bar. Over the last few weeks (probably months), I’ve talked about wanting to do some ministry there. While I don’t have all of the ‘How’ figured out, I know ‘Why’ I want to do ministry there. The problem is that I’m not so sure I’ve helped others clearly understand why. As a leader, clarity of purpose is critical. Doubly so when it’s an unconventional idea, like a Bible study in a bar.
So here are 3 reasons ‘why the bar?’:
The Dead Drop 