Last weekend we had the opportunity to get away for a couple days and go camping with some friends in the Smoky Mountains. Some of our richest family memories are from camping. While we only get to go a handful of times a year we enjoy every second of it.
I’ve discovered that you can pretty much split everyone into two categories in life. Those who camp and those who don’t.
Which one are you?
If you enjoy camping what’s your favorite place to camp?
There’s a simple prayer I’ve been reciting a lot lately. It’s a prayer that reportedly David Brainerd (1718-1747) often prayed. Brainerd was an American missionary to the Native Americans. Even though he died at the early age of 29 God used his life in amazing ways. His prayer appropriately was…
God let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am.
So that’s my prayer today.
How about you? What are you praying today?
Gage had his first school dance the other day. It was actually a 50′s theme day at Kindergarten which featured a “sock hop.” I’m not exactly sure but I think that’s the same thing as a dance. Kind of reminds me of a time in high school when a local church hosted a “foot fellowship.” Those were the good ole days.
Here’s a pic of Gage as we sent him off to school and a pic one of the moms sent us from the dance. Oh, how I would loved to have been a fly on the wall.
I actually think if I could pick any decade to have been a teenager it would have been the 50′s. I don’t know what it is but I’ve always been fascinated by the 50′s. I read the other day that in 1950 fewer than 1 in 10 homes in America had a T.V. That’s hard to believe!
How about you. If you could be a teenager in any decade what decade would it be?
This was the video introduction to our new series entitled “This Is Our God.” I loved going back to the neighborhood I grew up in to shoot this video with Matt. I’ve got lots of great memories from Central Avenue.
I don’t think anyone would argue that our relationships are formed by our perceptions of each other. The story I told in the video above of the Ormond family is one of hundreds of examples I could give of how this has played out in my life.
And our relationship with God is no different.
Nothing in all of life will impact your relationship with God like the way you think of God. Everything in your life consciously or unconsciously comes back to one thing: Whom do you visualize God to be in your heart?
So in this message series and the blogs I write on this topic my main goal is to get you to ask yourself two questions:
1) What do you think about God?
2) What do you think He thinks about you?
If you’re looking for another resource to help you go a little deeper with this topic I’ve found Chip Ingram’s book God: As He Longs for You to See Him
I read a great article the other day by Skye Jethani entitled “The Ambition Engine.” While the article is geared toward those of us in pastoral ministry the implications certainly could apply to all of us. Jethani wrote, 
Sometimes our ambition engine needs a tune-up; a realignment toward Christ and away from self-centered desires. Discerning when an overhaul dilemma. There is no “check engine” light on our ministry dashboard, but Scripture offers wisdom in recognizing when our ambitions are misfiring.
Old Testament figures like Moses and Jeremiah were reluctant leaders. They did not seek power or influence, and at times actively resisted God’s call into leadership. But he put a “fire in their bones” that they could not extinguish. They remind us that calling is a result of God’s grace, not a selfish desire for acclaim. But is humble reluctance what we should expect in every godly leader?
Not according to the New Testament. Peter says elders ought to lead willingly and not under compulsion (1 Pet. 5:2). Paul affirms those who aspire to leadership (1 Tim. 3:1). It is clear that when ambition is sparked by our communion with Christ, it can be a righteous energy that drives our ministry. It inspires us to take risks, try new approaches, or venture to new lands. But any fuel that can accomplish so much good carries inherent dangers as well. Ambition, like an uncontained fire, can also be a source of great destruction. The drive to achieve can backfire on a leader causing great harm to families, congregations, and the leader himself.
I’ll be honest. There are days I really struggle with trying to figure out if my motives are “pure” or not. Sometimes there seems to be such a fine line.
What’s the difference between promoting and believing in a book you’ve written verses self promotion?
What is the difference between challenging a staff person to do better than they’re doing verses just being disappointed because they’re not meeting your self-centered desires?
What is the difference between being upset with someone who has an unhealthy desire for criticism verses someone who said something that just dinged your ego?
These are just a few of the questions I’m asking these days as I seek to live and lead from a pure heart.
So how about you. How do you know the difference between godly and a selfish ambition?
This summer I did an interview with Croswalk.com while I was in St. Louis. They took the interview and put it to a cool little video. I thought this was a nice way to spruce up a little audio interview. Hope you find it encouraging today.
The Plans of Our Lives: Pete Wilson on Control, Fear, Dreams, and God’s Will from CrosswalkDotCom on Vimeo.
Calling all church planters. Join me for a Backstage Leadership discussion on ChurchPlanting coming up on November 30th. Come enhance your leadership. Spend 90 minutes learning with Mark Batterson and yours truly. Bring your best questions, and we’ll spend our time in Question & Answer dialogue going deep on the inner workings of church planting. Whether you’re in the early stages of building a team, or a year into weekly gatherings, any church-planting question is free game. Backstage was started for those questions when you don’t need a book or conference on the topic, just a specific answer from someone with experience on the issue. Since Backstage Leadership is a distance learning program, you get all this great content without any travel! You can register for the event HERE.
