Saturday Morning Leadership Reflection

Leaders, the size of your impact in this world will be based on the size of your courage.

Marinate with me on some quotes about courage:

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy". --Martin Luther King Jr

"To look at something as though we had never seen it before requires great courage." Henri Matisse, painter

"True courage is not the absence of fear—but the willingness to proceed in spite of it.” Unknown

"If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t go anywhere." --Unknown

“Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

“Greatness is Just a Decision Away”

If you want to be great, you will, at many points in your life, have to exercise great courage.


And our ability to exercise great courage depends on how we answer this question: “Do we trust God enough to follow Him even when we don’t understand where He’s leading us?”

Marinate on Genesis 12:1-3. It’s the story of how God called Abram to trust Him.

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV)
God calls Abram to leave his country. That can be a traumatic experience!

God calls him to leave his family. That’s very traumatic! Our families give us a sense of value, belonging, and purpose.

God then calls him to leave his father’s house. This is TRAUMATIC! God is asking Abram to forsake his identity, all of who he is, which was given to him by his earthly father. God in essence is saying, “Abram, your entire being is now found in me. I’m your identity. You exist for me and my purposes.”

God asked Abram to give up what we may perceive as a lot, so that God’s mission would be actualized in human history (Genesis 12:3).

Did you know God is going to ask you to give up a lot? This is why most people don’t fulfill their God-given potential for greatness.

They want to stay in their “spiritual country,” which may be a certain job that allows them to maintain a certain lifestyle.

They want to stay with their “spiritual family”; this may be continuing to stay in an unhealthy relationship which compromises their commitment to Jesus.

They many want to stay with their “spiritual father.” In America, our core identity is found in our money and comfort, so we hoard and protect our comfort instead living in the joy of generosity and risk.

Abram, who became Abraham, received much more than He gave up by trusting God. But more importantly, the world was blessed by his obedience.

He became great. But he had to exercise great courage by trusting in a great God.

The greater you think God is, the more you’ll trust Him when you don’t understand.

Maybe our lack of trust and willingness to follow beyond a superficial level indicates how big and loving we think God really is?

For more encouragement, check out my book Hero. Click Here.

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

“Election: Union Life in Christ”

Jesus Christ is salvation (1 John 5:11).

He is the Life.

And through unending, abundant grace, by faith in Him through the Spirit’s enabling power, we can participate in His eternal life. Wow! Simply stunning!

The Apostle Paul uses the phrase “in Christ” and other similar phrases 216 times in the New Testament.

 Paul, a man of deep understanding of the Jewish concept of the God’s election, wanted his readers to know that they had every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3-14). This is called “Union Life in Christ.”

I want us to marinate on realities concerning the Christ-follower’s election and union life in Christ. Below, I use some of the chapter, “The Work of God: Salvation,” from Dr. Ken Keathly’s book, A Theology For The Church, pages 689-690.

From the eternal perspective, we were elected in Christ (Ephesians 1:4). God elected His own Jesus, who is our representative. We find our election in Him because we are in union with Him.

From the historical perspective, we were represented as united to Jesus’ sinless life, death on the cross, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:1-5).


From the present perspective, we are united with Jesus the moment we trust Him for eternal life (salvation). Therefore, we enjoy all the present blessings of salvation in Him (Ephesians 1:1-14).


From the eschatological perspective, all of the future blessings of salvation will be given to those who are united to Jesus (1 Peter 1:1-5; Romans 8:17; Ephesians 1:11).

For me this not a mere academic exercise. For me, this is worship, and I pray it is for you, as well. With each keystroke, my heart enlarges because Jesus’ love, life, and grace are swelling it so that I can re-present Him to my family, church, and world.

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

“Forgiveness: How Do I Learn How?”

How do we forgive when the pain of being hurt replays in our mind over and over?

How do we forgive when the pain of being hurt still hurts?

How do we forgive when the pain of being hurt has a left a nasty scar on our souls?

How?

Here are 3 keys that will allow us to forgive:


Remember that God, in Jesus, forgave you when you didn’t deserve it (Ephesians 4:32).


Receive God’s forgiveness in Jesus by trusting that God has truly forgiven you. Think more about how Jesus has done you right, instead of how the person who hurt you did you wrong.

Release the person who hurt you, taking away their power to hurt you again, by extending the same forgiveness God extended to you through Jesus.

Forgiving someone doesn’t mean that you forget what happened to you. But it does mean you remember what Jesus did for you.

Forgiving someone doesn’t mean that you have to be best friends with the person who hurt you. But it does mean that you have a best friend in Jesus.

Forgiving someone doesn’t mean that the wounds will ever heal. But it does mean that you remember Jesus, the Wounded Healer, whose grace is sufficient.

For more encouragement, check out my book Hero. CLICK HERE

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

“Is Jesus' Mission IM-possible?”

Is the mission of Jesus Christ impossible through our life?

Jesus’ Church, which the Bible describes as His Bride, His Family, and His Body, was birthed out of His divine DNA to join Him on His mission of reconciling the world to His Father (2 Corinthians 5:20; Matthew 28:18-20).

As a pastor and a Christ-follower in general, I see that many of Jesus’ followers separate Jesus’ mission from the activities of their everyday life.

They “go” to church, instead of seeing themselves as the Church. The Church gathers on the weekend and then scatters throughout the week to be Jesus’ hands and feet.

They think: There’s real life, and then there’s Jesus’ mission for super-Christians.

Many Christ-followers don’t see their jobs as their sphere of influence for Jesus’ mission to be accomplished through their lives.

Many Christ-followers don’t see their schools and relationships as their sphere of influence for Jesus’ mission to be accomplished through their lives.

Many Christ-followers don’t see that their marriage is primarily about displaying to the world how Jesus loves His Church (Ephesians 5:25-33).

It’s super-critical – like, to the 10th power! – for the Church to understand that Jesus’ mission isn’t separated from our everyday life. He has generously loaned us our abilities to display His glory and to carry out His redemptive mission in our spheres of influence.

Do you see the everyday activities of your life as opportunities for Jesus to accomplish His mission through your life or do you see Jesus as the means to help you carry out your mission?

More encouragement, check my book Hero. Click Here.

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

“1 Thing Every Great Leader Knows”

GOOD AND MEDIOCRE LEADERS ARE ALREADY TAKEN.

There’s really no need for any more of those kinds of leaders. The world is overpopulated with good and mediocre.

Your family, school, job, and team, like a thirsty man in the desert, are in need of great leaders.

You can be a great leader.

BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW ONE PERSON: YOURSELF.

Without self-awareness, your leadership potential will be hijacked like a world-class sprinter trying to run with a pulled hamstring. Not only will the world-class sprinter run slower, she’ll cause more damage to herself and her team.

WHAT DOES SELF-AWARENESS MEAN?

To be self-aware, according to leadership consultant Reggie McNeal, on page 10-11 of his book Practicing Greatness, includes the following:

Self-knowledge – knowing who you are in Christ (I added “in Christ”).

Self-mindfulness – understanding your motives for doing what you do.

Self-vigilance – what makes you tick and what ticks you off!

Self-consciousness – knowing how you come across to others.

Self-alertness – maintaining your emotional, physical, and spiritual condition.

Often, and sadly, leaders do not reach their potential because they don’t know themselves. And a leader that’s not self-aware can’t lead others into greatness.

Cooperate with God in the discovering of who you are in Christ, whose you are (God the Father’s), and what you are called to do with greatness in this world (vocation).

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

“Saturday Morning Leadership Reflections”

You ever do something for someone else, thinking that you are helping them only to realize that you’re helping yourself as well in the process?

 

My Saturday Morning Leadership Reflections were designed to encourage leaders.  I’ve now realized how much these reflections are encouraging me.

Here are 3 leadership reflections I want to share with Pastors:

Pastors/ Shepherds’ smell like sheep. 

This essentially means that pastoring/shepherding is more than preaching on the weekend.  Shepherding is caring for the flock God has entrusted to you.  What a thought, God entrusts precious to us (Hebrews 13:17).  For me in my context at Transformation Church, my shepherding role includes building into the lead team, counseling hurting people, and mentoring young leaders.  As a shepherd, if I don’t smell like sheep, I’m just a guy who talks on the weekend.

People come and people go.  Love the ones you are with. 

For various reasons, some healthy and some not so healthy, people will come to the local church you lead, stay for a while,  get involved then leave. Don’t take it personally.  Bless and encourage those you can when the leave and then get back to caring for the people God has entrusted to you.  I’ve learned that for everyone that leaves God in His graciousness sends five more precious people to care for, equip, and deploy in ministry.

Leading courageously doesn’t mean you don’t have fear. 

To lead courageously doesn’t mean that fear grip your soul, means that you trust in Jesus’ presence with you, and His power in you, and His promises for you.  Faith in Him pushes us beyond fear into doing the unimaginable for His glory, our joy, and the sake of our lost world.

Pastors/shepherds, I love you and have great respect for you and your calling.

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

“5 Ways to Bless Your Kids Into Greatness”

Who doesn’t want their kids to live a great life?

But how can we do that? We want to. But how?

Authors Gary Smalley and John Trent wrote a super-duper book called The Blessing. I want to build off their work and give you 5 ways to bless your kids into greatness.

1. Our kids need us to hug them often. This is called meaningful touch.

2. Our kids need us to tell them “I love you” often; whisper love and acceptance into their heart through your words and actions.  This includes discipline.

3. Our kids need us to tell them and show them that they matter to us and that they are worthy of being loved by us. As parents we have the privilege and responsibility to build God-esteem into them. Self-esteem attaches their self-worth to their performance, rather than attaching their self-worth to what Jesus accomplished through His performance on their behalf.

4. Our kids need us to paint a God-sized, God-glorifying, world-changing vision of their future. We have the tremendous privilege and awesome responsibility to identify and call out the greatness God has deposited in them.

5. Our kids need us to be actively committed to their lives, which means doing the four things I listed, and doing them consistently throughout their lives.

So how do they become great?

Life is lived from the inside out. As we bless them, they will grow healthy hearts and out of a healthy heart, a great life is birthed.

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

“ELECTION is More About Mission Than Heaven and Hell”

From all eternity, God’s dream has been to colonize earth with image-bearers that bring His Kingdom to earth (Ephesians 3:7-13).

ADAM IS CHOSEN/ELECTED

The dream began with Adam and his bride Eve. They were commissioned for mission to “go” and be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28). Adam and Eve rebelled against the loving initiatives and mission of God, and the great enemy – sin, death, and evil – invaded the earth (Romans 5:18-19).

ABRAHAM IS CHOSEN/ELECTED

God loves to love people, so this does not stop God’s epic dream. He calls unto Himself a worshiper of false gods named Abram. He makes a covenant with Abram (Genesis 12:1-3) and changes his name to Abraham. God says, “Through you, all ethnic groups of people will be blessed.” The blessing is that through Abraham and his family, the nations will know the one true God.

ISRAEL CHOSEN/ELECTED

Through Abraham, God chooses (or elects) the entire nation of Israel (Deuteronomy 7:6). This does not exclude people who are not in the nation of Israel. In fact, Israel existed so the nations (various ethnic groups) could know YHWH (God), the one true God. Election is the vehicle to carry the mission of God to the world. Israel existed to be a missionary community (Exodus 19:5-6).

Like Adam before them, Israel rebels against God’s loving initiatives and mission for their life. They were to be a light to the nations; instead, they excluded the nations from God through their rebellion.

Does this stop God’s dream? No! His dream is an unstoppable force.

JESUS IS CHOSEN/ELECTED

God then elects (or chooses) Jesus. Luke 9:35 (ESV) says, “And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My Son, My Chosen (Elect) One; listen to Him!’” Jesus is the sinless Lamb of God (John 1:29), so He wasn’t a sinner who needed God to choose or elect Him from a life of sin.

Just as Israel was chosen/elected, which meant they were a vehicle to carry the mission of God to the world, Jesus now fulfills what Israel didn’t accomplish. Because Jesus was the Messiah of Israel, Jesus embodied in His life Israel’s identity and mission. Where Adam and Israel fail to fulfill God’s mission, Jesus succeeds.

THE CHURCH IS CHOSEN/ELECTED

And now, the Church shares in, and participates in, Jesus’ choseness/election (Ephesians 1:4), and is now the vehicle to carry the mission of God to all ethnic groups throughout the world (Matthew 28:18-20).

Here’s just a little taste of what I mean:

Israel is called God’s son (Hosea 11:1). Jesus is called God’s Son (John 3:16). The Church is now made up of sons and daughters of God (1 John 3:1).

Israel was to be a light to the world (Isaiah 51:4). Jesus is the Light of the world (John 8:12). The Church is to let its light shine to the world (Ephesians 5:8).

Israel existed to know God and make Him known (Deuteronomy 4:35; Exodus 19:5-6; Psalms 67). Jesus knew God and made Him known through His life, since God dwelt in Him bodily. (John 1:14; 14:9; Colossians 2:9-10; Hebrews 1:3). The Church exists to know God and make Him known (Ephesians 1:6; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).

HOW DO WE BECOME GOD’S CHOSEN/ELECT?

Faith in Jesus allows us to be incorporated into Jesus, thus His identity and mission become ours. By sheer, heart-pounding grace, we enter the family of God. And the family of God is made up of the chosen (or elect), who now have the privilege and responsibility to be God’s missionaries.

Just as it was from the beginning, the chosen (or elect) is God's missionary movement to the nations (ethnic groups). And of course God knows from all eternity who the chosen/elect will be “in Christ” in accordance with His sovereign foreknowledge.

Does God choose us? Yes! Do we choose God? Yes!

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

"Overcoming Worry in 2012”

If you know how to worry, you know how to live by faith and overcome worry in 2012.

Worry paralyzes.

And faith catalyzes. 

God wants you to be catalytic, not a spiritual paralytic.

Worry is the by-product of where you place your thoughts.

Instead of setting your mind on all things that are wrong, could go wrong, or may go wrong, place your thoughts somewhere else and on a Person. 

Let Philippians 4:6-8 (GNT) drip into your heart like a faucet of grace:

Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking Him with a thankful heart. And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus. In conclusion, my brothers and sisters, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.

In 2012, place your mental energy in Christ; fill your mind with thoughts about Him and His promises. And His peace will overcome your worry.

For more encouragement, check out my book "Hero." Click here

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin