I remember as a teenager being inspired by the movie Chariots of Fire and the conviction shown by Eric Liddell, the brilliant Scottish athlete who refused to run in the heats of the Olympic 100m sprint because they were held on a Sunday. Liddell copped a fair bit of heat for being a runner when everyone around him had hoped that he would simply give his running away and go to be a missionary in China.

Yet Liddell had a bigger view of the world and of God than those around him. When those close to him simply wanted him to go and ‘do God’s work’, Liddell realised that ‘God’s work’ was right in front of him doing what he had been uniquely equipped to do. There is a beautiful line in the film where Liddell responds to a challenge from his sister Jenny to give up his running. He says:

“Jenny, God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast, and when I run I feel his pleasure.”

While Liddell inspired many with his athletic ability and his integrity of faith, perhaps what was missed was the fact that Eric Liddell was very much in touch with his sense of vocation – with who God had made him to be. He knew that when he was running he was more alive than at any other time. In those moments when he was sprinting he was ‘feeling God’s pleasure’.

That prompts a couple of questions for reflection that I will be speaking about in our church community. Eric Liddell said “God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast, and when I run I feel his pleasure.”

What greater purpose has God made you for?

What unique abilities and talents have you been given that when you use them cause you to feel most alive?

Henry David Thoreau said “Most men/women lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

What a tragedy for us and for the world it would be to ‘go to the grave with the song still inside’. So what’s ‘the song’ that is playing in your heart that needs to be expressed more fully, and why don’t you sing it out with great passion?

I am really tired of listening to people complain about their tedious, and sometimes vacuous lives because I believe there is a choice to live for something greater, but it comes at the cost of not living for the temporal and insignificant. The challenge is to listen to the voice of God that calls us to live purposefully rather than to submit to the voice of culture that tells us to take a number, fall in line and get on the treadmill.

It may even be that the two lives look the same at face value i.e. you may still work in the same job, but ‘under the bonnet’ changes will have occurred because you will be living with a sense of greater purpose and destiny.

You only get one crack at it so make it a good one!

One of the most memorable talks I have ever heard was Marcus Buckingham speaking at the WCA Leadership Summit on the importance of playing to your strengths rather than trying to bolster your weaknesses.

I had heard the idea before but never presented quite as clearly and as compellingly as Buckingham did that day. Essentially he was arguing that ‘we are who we are’ in broad terms and that is unlikely to change. Type A personalities are rarely going to be Type B. If you are by nature gentle, caring and people focused you are unlikely (ever) to become a strong, dominant task oriented person. And Buckingham was arguing that we need to become the best version of ourselves we can be by developing our strengths rather than seeking to compensate for our weaknesses.

This week I was listening to Andy Stanley’s leadership podcast, where I have picked up a few gems lately, and he was speaking about ‘less is more’. His main point was similar to Buckingham’s.

‘Do what only you can do and do it to the very best of your ability’ he said.

He argued that ‘your job’ (referring to pastoral team leaders) is not to be a well rounded person (ie compensating for weaknesses) but to build a well rounded team.

Over the last few years this has been a remarkably freeing insight as I have given up trying to be omnicompetent and have accepted that God has gifted me with some great strengths that deserve developing rather than weaknesses that are worth crying over.

In the last few years I’ve also been more aware than ever of the complimentary nature of Danelle’s and my leadership. Danelle has been growing in her own confidence as a leader and has been willing to be bolder with her views and insights and we are the richer for it. She is also very differently wired to me so its great to hear a totally different take on the same issue.

The beauty of ‘playing to your strengths’ and ‘developing a well rounded team rather than being a well rounded person’ is that everybody wins. You get to do what you were created for and people get to benefit from your strengths while other people also get brought into the game and are able to make sure a community is healthy.

It really is an unfathomable question isn’t it?…

But yet its a reality for many people who are either forced into slavery, or sold into it. If you watch the video you’ll be told that slavery is at an all time high in the world today, so despite our so called laws, people are still bought and sold as commodities (and cheaper than ever before).

As one of the commentators on the video says: “We’ve put people on the moon, we’ve got dolphin friendly tuna… why can’t we do the same for kids?…”

Its a very screwed up world when we can advance in some areas and yet lose our way in others that really matter.

Only last night I was watching a news story where a badly abused cat had been restored to health by a kind vet, but people had donated $18000.00 for the cat’s rehabilitation. Now I’m not for abuse of animals, (even cats… ) but I shook my head in disbelief wondering how screwed up priorities become when we give that much money to help a cat get well while there is so much human suffering… Yes, we could wonder that about many things…

Anyway if this strikes a chord in you then – to reframe Nike – ‘just do something‘.

For those may wonder how they can make a difference here’s a great way kicked off by some very good friends of ours. They will be launching their project on Aug 26th in Joondalup and I’ll be there making the coffees – (thanks to Dean at Five Senses for the donation of the beans) so if you would like to get involved then give these guys your support.

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FOSAFIA (Friends of SA Foundation, International -Australia) aims to educate people about the huge problem of human trafficking, and raise awareness and funds to support international programs provided by SAFoundation (www.safoundation.com).

One of the ways we do this, is through importing and sale of jewellery and handicrafts, a line collectively called Global Wonders; made by Nepalese women who are engaging in SAF’s Serve Nepal Skill Development and Income Generation Program.

We are going to be launching the Global Wonders line here in Perth later on this month, and giving people opportunities to link up with FOSAFIA in many different ways. The details are below, and if you would be so kind, please forward this on to others in your network who have a passion for social justice and fighting the oppression of women and children both locally and internationally.

If you have any questions or want more info, please don’t hesitate to contact either Cate or Elzette, our details are below.

FOSAFIA Global Wonders Launch

When: 26th August, 2010

Where: Cornerstone Church, 3 Lago Place, Joondalup WA 6027

Time: 7:30-9pm

RSVP: Email, text or phone by 20 August, 2010

Friends of SA Foundation, International – Australia (FOSAFIA)

Perth, Western Australia

email: fosafia@yahoo.com

phone: 0413318881 (Cate) or 0423518217 (Elzette)

One of the things I have been learning over the last few years is just how little control I actually have over my life.

I think we all like to think we are in control, but really it’s an illusion and we are foolish to think it any different.

Death comes unexpectedly too often, illness strikes, money gets stolen, houses burn down… whatever it is we realize that (to quote Scotty) there are no guarantees in life.

Yesterday I went back to work after a month off and came home hardly able to move my arm. Not good when it’s your primary work tool. I’ve been really enjoying my Retic work and the whole deal of running a business, but last night I realized again just how fragile life is as I pondered ‘what to do’ in the absence of a business. Two days a week of church work wouldn’t pay the bills so I was wondering exactly what we would do.

I guess i’m like most people in that I like to have some control over my destiny, but truth is I have no control – and stressing over it doesn’t change it.

So there are questions raised for us about what it all means. Is it time to revamp the way I do business or is it time for life to change again dramatically?

I like my life at the moment so the thought of change doesn’t thrill me, but sometimes you have no choice…

I don’t think I’d be overstating it to say that we trust that whatever goes down God is with us. We know there are no guarantees of success, affluence or happiness even if we think we are somehow entitled to these things.

So we will see where the road takes us… My hope is that it will be business as usual in every way, but we are also wondering if this is the catalyst for a significant change…