What if God asked you to take your family to Afghanistan and to get involved in helping the people rebuild their country?

‘But he wouldn’t do that’ I hear some of you say.

Why not?

Sure, there are plenty of sane, sensible and logical reasons that I could offer. I reckon I could pose a pretty good argument for ‘not going’ but none of those reasons stack up at all alongside a compelling sense of the spirit’s leading.

Some of you will know Phil who blogs at Itinerant Indigent and who is yet again travelling back to this place with his wife and kids to love, serve and help the people who live there.

Personally I have found Phil’s journey to be an inspiration and a prophetic challenge to all of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus and live in these comfortable suburban streets. The word ‘apostle’ gets bandied about pretty carelessly at times, but here’s a bloke who embodies the courage, devotion and sense of ‘sentness’ that I believe needs to pulse thru the veins of every person with that gift/calling.

If you’re interested to know why someone would do that then you need to check out Phil’s latest post as he explains why this is their choice at this time. Here’s an excerpt:

‘When Christ calls a man, he bids him “Come and die” ‘. Thus said Bonhoeffer, and while he meant it in a spiritual sense – that is, the death of one’s private ego and aspirations – I think he also meant it literally. And as it turned out for Bonhoeffer, it was a literal and a spiritual command. I suppose it could turn out that way for us. We are ok with that. Shouldn’t anyone of faith be ok with that? Jesus, whom I follow, called people – anyone who listened – to abandon security and safety and the protection of their own life. Heck, we are going to die anyway, and who says my life is so tremendously significant that I ought to fiercely protect it? ‘Ahhh’, you say, ‘but you have children now. Fine to go and die for your dreams, but what about them?’ Good point. For what it is worth, the kids are very happy to be going back to Afghanistan. They are looking forward to the TVs on the plane, they tell me. And if I tell them to live lives of committed faith, but fail to do so myself, isn’t that some kind of hypocrisy?

That is not meant to sound trite, or cheap. It is simply that it is easy to turn away from atrocity and hardship: that is in fact the mantra for modern living – ‘take it easy, enjoy, relax, you deserve it.’ This is a particularly powerful message as you get older, when you are supposed to be settling down and end your youthful adventuring. ‘Let someone else go to Afghanistan’, is a message we have heard many times in the last months.

Go well my friend.

Our world (and especially our churches) need many more of your ilk to challenge the messages of comfort and security we are fed daily and to be reminded that our lives are not our own.

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…

Back in February I took on a job for a guy in our local area that I thought was clear and simple. We discussed the two parts of his Retic that needed fixing and I went on to fix them.

When he hadn’t paid two weeks later I dropped in to see if there was a problem. We had an amicable conversation where he apologised and then asked me if I could ‘just fix up two more sprinklers’ for him. I did it and charged him for the parts. Sum total owing was $200.00, not a grand amount at all.

When it hadn’t been paid in two weeks I rang and he told me he wasn’t happy with the work… but he couldn’t tell me what he wasn’t happy with. He got abusive and aggressive and hung up.

After a series of emails he told me he was only willing to pay $100.00. It was a ludicrous debate over a petty amount of money, but I was well and truly pissed off by now.

I actually had a God moment where I sensed the right thing to do was to take his $100.00 and then offer to come and fix anything and everything at no cost. (something about ‘overcoming evil with good’)

After another 2 weeks there was still no $100.00 and no reply, so I took out a court order to get it sorted. In the meantime he told he had put $100 cash into my letterbox… Hmmm…

So we turned up in court to get it resolved. I figured I had emails from him and evidence that would clearly show me to be in the right. I didn’t count on him lying his way thru the whole thing.

After the preliminary hearing where the judge simply heard his defense we had to wait another 90 mins to meet with a mediator before the hearing could be set for November some time.

As the mediator explained the process and the amount of time it would require my pragmatism started to kick in. It was going to take at least 1 whole day, if not two and with him lying his way thru there were no guarantees I would win.

He offered $125.00 to settle and at first I told him to keep it, but the mediator was gently pushing and nudging me to call it quits. I began to see the futility of pressing on so through clenched teeth I said ‘ok $125.00’ and immediately felt livid inside.

He had screwed me over and he was going to get away with it. What a pathetic justice system!

She began writing up the order for $125 but as she started his face went red and he said ‘Hang on. Make it $200.00. He’s a good bloke this fella. He’s actually a good man.’

I was stunned to say the least.

I didn’t know whether to be happy or to feel patronised. He had totally confused me.

He went off to get the $$$ and returned with cash. As the mediator was photocopying the documents I asked him how his work was going. He curtly said ‘no offense but I’ve got nothing to say to you.’

I’m totally confused now…

So we stand in silence and leave in silence, me wondering all the time what on earth is going on.

As we get to our cars at the same time I notice that mine has a parking ticket… He noticed too, smiles smugly and says ‘that’d be karma mate’.

I drive off and try to forget.

So that was my day in court… Definitely not worth the effort and pretty disturbing to see that justice is not easily accessible.

What’s funny is that the other bloke has now paid $300.00 for a $200.00 job that he felt was only worth $100.00… of course that assumes that the $100.00 in the letterbox actually existed…

Hmmm…

I’m normally very principle driven, so to give in to pragmatism was hard but it was a complete ‘no win’

Would I do it again?

Nope.

Makes you realize why people ‘take matters into their own hands’

I have been reflecting again on some of what I read in Tribes by Seth Godin. Essentially its a book about the challenges of innovation, entrepeneurship and creativity in leadership.

Godin is calling people to ‘lead’, to step up and actually choose to be different from the crowd and be a ‘heretic’. What he is meaning by that is to choose to lead distinctively and to chart your own course rather than seeking to be the ‘best clone’ amongst many others.

Its about making a choice not to conform – because in that choice there is an opportunity make some difference.

Its not as stupid as just ‘be different for the sake of being different’, but rather its a challenge to consider our own unique vocation and to make the most of it – to rise above the crowd of sameness and mediocrity.

I sense it’s way too easy to simply ask ‘what are the rules of the system’ and then to play within them as best you are able when I am convinced it would be much more inspiring (and potentially productive) to ask ‘what is the objective’ and from there to figure out the best way to achieve the goal irrespective of the rules of the ‘system’ we find ourselves within.

Of course ‘systems’ exist for a reason and many people have lots invested in them so the idea of leading but not playing by the rules will disturb those who either like the rules or have created the rules.

Godin says ‘When you fall in love with the system you lose the ability to grow’ (p.71) I am guessing that because you close your mind to other possibilities and you choose to look thru only one lens at the problem in question.

I really like that Danelle & I have chosen the homeschool route – not simply because it is different – but because it fits with who we are and reflects our own values and philosophies. It would have been quite possible to help our kids achieve the best they could within ‘the system’ by sending them to a private school and give them any extra tuition required, but we are looking thru a different lens and hence the outcome has been different.

I believe the challenge is to retain an open mind, to see alternative thinking as not for the hippies and renegades but for anyone who wants to do more than cruise in a comfortable rut.

Godin writes: In order to lead you must challenge the status quo of the religion you are living under” p. 70

I’ve been blessed to have spent much of the last 10 years around people who are ‘heretics’ and the value to my own leadership development has been immense. It makes life more complicated on occasions because I no longer see ‘stock answers’ as immediately acceptable, but then if I am not inspired to be the ‘best clone’ I can be then I am guessing plenty of others also want to walk to the beat of a different drum.

On that note here’s a final quote from Godin:

“Who settles? Settling is no fun. Its a malignant habit, a slippery slope that takes you to mediocrity… The art of leadership is understanding what you can’t compromise on”. P67

I think the question most of us face is ‘do we really know who we are and what we will refuse to compromise on?’

If we do then we can lead with distinctiveness and conviction, which will always trump simply being skilled at working the ‘system’.

We are on the road again about 200ks out of Port Hedland after spending the last 5 days in Karajini National Park. We lobbed in on Monday around lunchtime and after 50ks on the dirt managed to find the campsite.

Stu and co had managed to find a fantastic free campsite just outside the national park and we stayed there until this morning. We managed to survive on just 60l of water, but none of that got used for ‘personal washing’ so even though we had a few icy gorge swims we are all a bit stinky and looking actually forward to arriving in Hedland… (there’s a first!)

The weather has been cool and last night the red dust turned to mud as the rain started to fall. It broke for a couple of hours as we sat around the fire, but then drizzled till morning making for a damp, clammy night.

Karajini is a great place and the various gorges are pretty stunning. We are thinking we should have come a month earlier though to catch some warmer weather as swimming was only for the brave and the stupid!

As always it was great to share the time with some of our closest friends and to catch up on what’s been going down in each others lives. You know you have a pretty blessed life when you get to spend 5 days in a beautiful place with some wonderful people and then there are still 3 weeks left to enjoy.

At this point we are thinking we will keep heading north probably as far as Broome and into warmer weather as we are a bit over the cold and i am ready to kick back on Cable beach with one of those sensational seafood pizzas from Zanders Cafe.

The Slap

I’ve been reading ‘The Slap’ by Christos Tsiolkas, a novel I heard about a few years ago and have been hoping to get a hold of.

The story revolves around a group of friends present at a party where one ‘dad’ actually hits the 3 year old from another family and we are then drawn into the story and get to observe the incident from the point of view of all those in the social set.

As a story it’s interesting and generally well written. It has some good insights, but for my money it’s weighed down by an overload of gratuitous sex scenes and ‘f’ and ‘c’ words. I don’t think I’m any prude, so when my ‘take it easy’ radar goes up then I figure it’s overdone and somewhat unnecessary.

The friend who lent it to me described it as a ‘very base’ novel and I reckon he was on the money. I am just over half way thru and the legal implications of ‘the slap’ have been resolved, so it will be interesting to see what the next 280 pages have in store.

As a story that addresses a range of interesting social issues it has some currency, but you really do need to be able to get past some pretty explicit sexual stuff – certainly more than I needed to encounter anyway!