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If you have all the Jesus you want…DON’T read this book.        more info

It never goes away.

The fear I get as we are driving to the river…the fear getting ready to put on a river I have never paddled before…the fear as I approach the next rapid on the river. For some reason that fear never goes away.

Kayaking is a sport that only a few people seem to have a spirit for. Whitewater kayaking narrows that small group even more. I love the outdoors and I love the water. A flowing river for me means a lot of things. Its kind of an intersection of the beauty of God’s creation and the challenges of the life that we live in that created world (geez that was deep). For some reason…that is way down in my soul…I am drawn to that intersection.  

I have paddled “flatwater” for about five or six years. But I started kayaking “whitewater” about a year ago. The best way to explain the difference between the two is like the difference between checkers and chess. On flatwater you simply paddle around. Which can be very relaxing and enjoyable. In a whitewater kayak your success comes from knowing what the water is doing (primarily under the surface), pre-planning your position, and executing the skills. Oh yea…there are some split second reaction requirements too.

There are many parallels that can be made between paddling a river and living this life. Most of us love to paddle around and soak in “consume” the things around us. Whitewater paddling on the other hand has shown me how to overcome my fears and do something bold, scary or uncommon. Truly living for Christ in this world is uncommon. Many of us call ourselves Christian…but few are bold enough to break through our fears and live it.

Let’s go paddling together this weekend!

Seems as though there is a character gap in our leaders today. Well actually there has ALWAYS been a character gap in most of our leaders. The position, power, money and or stress always seems to compromise men in women whenever they appear to have it all together. Spiritual leaders are not immune to this reality. Reggie McNeal does a wonderful job in this book of giving us few guidelines (disciplines) that will help all of us stay true to our self and to our followers.

Reggie states that humility and popularity can coexist. Because great leaders keep the perspective of the true source of their strength. We all have known a handful of “great” leaders in a sea of “good” leaders. Reggie’s wisdom makes it very clear that great leadership is earned. It is not a gift…it is a reward. The first three disciplines revolve around the leaders self-awareness, self-management and self-development. While the final four disciplines provide clarity for the leader in the areas of mission, decision making, belonging and aloneness.

 If you are a spiritual leader or coach and you have the desire to have a lasting impact on the people around you, you should read and reread PRACTICING GREATNESS.

‘To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.  In fact, both their minds and their consciences are corrupted.  They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.  They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.’  Titus 1:15-16

 This verse is directed to non-believers but has implications for believers as well.  The mind represents part of our Soul (mind, will and emotions) and the conscience is part of our Spirit (intuition, conscience, communion with God).  How can we grow if we are corrupted?  After coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, we have to deal with the areas of our lives that are broken…but how?

 I think of a computer that is ‘corrupted’.  It won’t work properly, and neither will we.  We need to run an anti-malware program to clean it up.  It is the same with us.  We need the Holy Spirit to search us to see if there is any evil way in us.  We need a firewall to keep out the evil one because he is constantly probing our defenses looking for a way in.

 Could it be that the reason we see so little passion and commitment in our churches today is because they are full of saved but ‘corrupted’ people?  We need the healing and deliverance that Jesus promises.  Come Holy Spirit and do your work in us.

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I invited my good friend Bob Lee to post here…please leave your thoughts and comments below…thanks ebroussard