Where does authority come from?

Just like with Foundations, authority comes from true knowledge.

You answer with shakiness if you are not certain. If you know the Earth is round, you do not hesitate to respond. You answer with confidence every time. “Of course it’s round.”

I believe that authority concerning God and his Word is the same way. Jesus displayed authority when he taught. He knows God intimately and ultimately. No one questioned Jesus’ answers after he spoke with authority. No one else was that confident in their question or answer.

If you have been in the Presence, you have seen God and have a measure of true knowledge of God. You don’t have to quote Scripture because you have something of more substance for you: experience.

Preachers who have not experienced the presence of God cannot have true authority in their teachings. They are quoting what someone else has seen or experienced. The Scriptures are to be a testimony as a reason to launch you into your own experience, not to rely on solely.

This is not to say that Scriptures are lacking in Truth or that they are somehow not for other purposes, like being useful for teaching and correcting. The point of Scripture is to get you to know the Author, not just memorize words or be familiar with the text to know where pieces of wisdom are.

It’s like the difference between reading Seth Godin’s blog and hanging out with him. You have much more authority on the subject of who he is and what he is like after you have spent time with him. It is the same way with God. You have much more authority to say what God is like and what he desires if you have spent time with him instead of only having read the book he inspired. That knowledge is secondhand.

This authority is necessary because you won’t always have the Bible handy to point to someone with authority’s retelling. Instead you can simply testify to what you truely know. That is the kind of authority that is lacking in my life, and I believe it is lacking in churches across the country.

Don’t underestimate the power of transperency/communication

Recently I realized that I have been under a lot of stress, mostly stemming from a combination of work, volunteering and moving.  I have had a lot of new stresses corresponding with the level of repsonsibilities that have been added to my life over the last two months.  I can already see how God is stretching me and causing me to step out of comfort/safety to actually lead.

I am learning that going ahead and admitting inadequacies and stresses to my co-workers and supervisors right now instead of burning out is a beautiful thing.  It is keeping me honest and humble, while building trust and team spirit.  It is always surprising to see how other people are ready and willing to step up and help shoulder weight when you actually ask for it instead of telling people from a position of power.  It seems like people respond better to an explanation and a request than an unclear/unexplained demand.  While that may seem like common sense, I think the natural tendency for leaders is to protect our position by keeping people at a distance and making them do what we wish instead of inviting them to be a part of what we all know needs to get done.

I have had two really amazing conversations that have really helped to lighten the stresses with my co-workers and student ministry folks.

Manage THIS!

In a surprise move, I was asked to step up into a managerial position at my job not too long ago.  I took the position after much prayer and consideration last Monday.  I have no clue what I am doing, but my boss is very gracious and patient with me.

I am beginning to realize that the position is a job in and of itself, it is not just added responsibility.  I have spent more time over the last week in meetings and fielding questions than with any other leadership role I have had so far.  It has been great, and challenging, but will take some time to really understand what I am supposed to do.

I find that I work well with a defined role, and a clear set of expectations.  This not only pushes me to meet requirements, but also gives me an edge to where I can safely explore options and alternative methods.  I like to see where I need to be, complete it, then move on to challenge myself and my supervisor’s expectations.  There seems to be something inside of me that wants to go above and beyond, just to see if I can do it.

I realized this morning that I need to make sure that between my full-time position at Frontier Label and volunteering with student ministry that I need to make sure that both of my supervisors have given me enough direction and have set clear enough expectations so that I can move forward with purpose and not get bogged down in juggling unspoken tasks/demands.  It hit me like a ton of bricks this morning.  Kind of crazy.

Entrepreneurial Advice

I had the privilege of having breakfast with a man that I respect yesterday. I wanted to talk to him about starting businesses and how to balance that in life. Here is some of what he told me:

• The vision for his own business was never an ‘if’ but always a ‘when.’
• Get started in manageable increments, then, with confidence, step into a larger arena.
• If you have some form of expertise, stick with it, few will have niche talents like yours.
• Develop/participate in/use a community of peers to have somewhere to take your produce and ideas for feedback and buy-ins.
• Find your niche, where competition is thin and you can excel.
• Have a defined plan for a set amount of time to realize/sharpen your vision.
• His toughest lesson was not heeding the advice that he often sought about business practices, trying to step outside of his expertise without a vision for his efforts.
• Once you have a clear vision, with tenure, capital should not be a worry.
• Be smarter, know the laws/maxims/industry standards (repetition rings true over time).
• Lead from above, the business depends on the people who do the work.
• Don’t put someone in an administrative position who isn’t smarter about and can’t do their job better than you can.
• Take your time to achieve retirement, it is supposed to take 45 years anyway.
• Don’t rush into marriage/family/business, it leads to being over-stressed and under-financed.
• Get as much education as you can, it makes the physical work easier.
• Have the character to own business mistakes, being a real man in your marriage, and constantly work on the relationship whether you are in a boom or bust season. It takes reassurance either way.
• Make sure that your priorities are correct when investing: wife, family, business, friends. You only get one shot at some of them.

Camping cont’d

So, it was a little later than Friday.

Camping was awesome.  I took three guys to Brasstown Falls, like I had planned.  It was amazing.  I really pushed them to do stuff they had never done.  Like build a fire.  We went hiking at dusk, so we had to rely on flashlights as we traversed roots and rocks to get down to the lower falls.  It became pretty perilous for the guys who went swimming as their world was much slipperier after the dip.  We talked about what they wanted to do or change to be more like Jesus and some other personal matters.  It was pretty revealing.  It was much colder than expected that night and we accidentally left one of the windows in the tent open, so the air just streamed in on us.  I don’t think the bags were rated appropriately for the conditions.  Either way, we made it through the night and woke up to powdered donuts and blueberry muffins.  I had the guys restoke the fire and taught them how to do that effectively.  Then I had them read 2 Peter 1 and write down at least 5 things that stood out to them.  We talked about what God had showed us and how we needed to respond.  That is probably one of my favorite passages in the Bible.  After that, we hiked some more and free-climbed right next to a 40 foot waterfall.  It was pretty spectacular.  The guys who took a dip the night before decided to do it again, so the other fellow and I cleaned up the camp site and prepared to leave.  The ride home was crazy as we plugged in an iPod touch to the stereo and blasted the music, singing as loud as we could.  Journey’s “Don’t stop believeing” never sounded so good.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to invest in some guys who will one day be great leaders of their peers.  I need to make a bigger priority of doing that kind of thing.  And do it regularly.

Daniel Chapter 5

This is a continuation of my reading of Daniel.

5:1-4 Am I using something that God has set up to honor himself to glorify something other than him? Am I setting myself up for a confrontation with reality?
5:5 God’s creativity in how he gets our attention is endless.
5:10-12 Daniel’s reputation is built off of what God has given him, not on personal accomplishments. That is how I wish to be known now/remembered when God is done with me on Earth.
5:13 Sometimes God has to take us out of our home and people to put us in a place to fulfill our purpose. Daniel would not have had the chance to advise the king of Assyria from Judah. We don’t have to be the guy in charge to change the world. We only need to be available, obedient and have a reputation of integrity when we are near kings. When we are stable and integrated individuals who are constantly looking out for the best in our leaders, they, who are often living precarious lives, will look to us for advice and support. That is when we have the chance to change the world.
On a side note: My father has taught me so much about having integrity and doing the work right the first time, every time; even if you have to work outside your expertise to do it. He has set a high bar and put plenty of ground under me to jump off.
5:18-24 In a related note, what a father passes to his child can mean the world, literally life and death, to that child. God calls all of us who are fathers, or will be fathers to teach our children all the lessons that God has taught us. I can’t imagine potentially throwing my kid’s life away because a conversation is tough or might be awkward. But then again, I am not a father yet, so I don’t know all of the pressures involved.
5:25-28 I guess this is where the phrase “the writing is on the wall” comes from.
5:30 God is never wrong. What he says goes. That hasn’t changed since… ever.

Daniel Chapter 1

I have been reading Daniel to try and prepare for where our student ministry is headed. Here is what I have gotten out of it.

1:4    The world looks for the exceptional to carry out their plans, God uses the ordinary to make himself look great.
1:5    It only took 3 years to learn all the Babylonian culture and literature. How lazy are we that it takes us no less than 7 years plus or minus college to get acquainted with our own society?
1:8-16    Daniel was uncompromising about honoring God and his laws. He stepped up as a leader among his peers (Rack, Shack and Benny).
1:17    God blessed the four of them for obedience now so that they could be more obedient later. God gives vision & understanding to his chosen leaders.
1:20    Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.  No one else could possibly compare to God’s chosen servants.
1:21    Wow, Daniel was an adviser for around 60 years.  Now that is what I call a full career.